Naruto Clash of Dimensions
by FoxKid1302
Summary: What would happen if a feather of memory land into the ninja world? Unexpected encounter can either end up a precious memory, or a disaster... Read to find out more! COMPLETED
1. The Encounter

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto and TRC. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and CLAMP respectively. I own only the story.

**Summary: **Remember the time when Itachi was still alive and we haven't learn that he was the good guy? Remember the time when Fye just received his vampire power? My story revolves around that time. I wrote this story way back in 2008 in my mother language, Vietnamese. But only now I can muster the courage and inspiration to translate it to English for you to read. Enjoy...

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><p>- Ugh! It's… so… hot… I'm being burnt alive. Sakura-chan, do you have any water left? – Naruto tried his best to drag himself with his feet, sweat pouring out from all over his body.<p>

- Stop whining! We're nearly home! One more complaining and I'll send you flying to the hospital! – A fist was raised, and he shut his mouth immediately. The owner of the fist also had steam escaping from her head.

Naruto, Sakura, Kiba and Hinata were on their way home after a delivery mission (the type that bored the blond ninja to death). The sun above seemed to enjoy burning everything below in the blazing summer. That really didn't help their states at all. They were all exhausted after a really long travel. Akamaru and Kiba didn't even bother to look where they were going, but they're still smart enough not to provoke the already-on-fire Sakura, also drenched in sweat. Hinata, well, she was busying tightening her grip around the water bottle in her hands, her face as red as a tomato. Under the inferno heat, she looked just like a volcano about to erupt.

- Uhm… Naruto-kun! I… I still have some… w-water. If… y-you like… - she mumbled to her feet, hands shaking.

- Wow! Thanks a bunch Hinata, I'll help myself then! You're really a life saver! – Naruto was more than happy to receive the bottle and gulping it all down, completely had no idea about two set of eyes looking at him with obvious envy: Kiba and Akamaru.

_It's always like that_. He thought. _First Naruto, second also Naruto. I'm always the last of her attention list when he's around_…

But Sakura voice cut off his line of thought.

- Guys, look at that! – She pointed to the sky, drawing the rest of their attention.

In the middle of thin air, a space just got swollen and slowly descending, as if air itself was made of liquid. Upon touching the ground, the bundle of air broke out like a water balloon, revealed four people inside, all covered in blood.

- Who are you? – The tallest man in black armor suddenly pointed his bloody sword at them, growling.

- Kuro-rin, now is not the time! Sakura-chan passed out, and Fye lost a lot of blood – A tiny, squeaky voice coming from somewhere in the only girl of the group.

The contorted face of Naruto disappeared, shuriken and kunai readied in his hands. Kiba and Akamaru also switched to defense mode, but Sakura had stopped them all. She raised her hands, slowly approaching the strangers:

- Relax! We're not bad people! What happened?

- Kurogane-san, please! We have to stop Fye-san's bleeding – The boy, covered in red fluid held on to the black man's arm – They can catch up to us any moment!

- What about them? Don't tell me you're gonna trust them!

- Hey! We're trying to help… - Naruto begun, but got cut off by Hinata holding his sleeve. Sakura bent down on her knees:

- Please trust us! We mean you no harm. We just want to help! Are you being chased?

The answer for her question arrived almost instantly.

From all around them, air was being sliced open, revealing a dark red blurry scene from the other side. Soldier with black armor poured out from those slices, carrying all sort of weapon from swords to claws. Nearly a hundred of them surrounded two teams.

- What the hell…? – Kiba could only say that much, since they already lunged at them.

The heating, quiet road exploded into a battlefield. Naruto clones barricaded most of the soldiers, while Kiba and Akamaru just simply plowed through them with Gatsuuga, leaving giant marks on either the soil or the enemies. In the mean time, Hinata and Sakura helped straighten up the injured, despise the protest of the black man. Sakura shout out:

- Naruto! We need a path out of here!

Her scream got drowned in the middle of all the clashing of metal, the howl and the sound of bodies being ripped apart. No matter how much she called out, Naruto couldn't hear a thing. Fortunately, Kiba's supersensitive ear got it just in time, and Gatsuuga drilled a big hole through the soldiers, leading straight to Konoha. Akamaru got loaded up with four people from the girls, quite a pack, but he just ran his best to the village, followed up by his master and friends, still fighting to rid themselves off the soldiers.

- What the hell are they? No matter how we cut them, they just keep coming. – Naruto set up a group of clones to block the pursuit enemies.

- They're robot, machines, not human! You have to cut their heads to kill them! – The black man tried to raise his voice, still held on to his blond companion.

- There's too many of them! We have to retreat! Where are we? – The boy asked.

- We're almost at the gate of our village Konoha, we're gonna make it! – Hinata blew a group of soldiers away with her Juuken.

- Who are you? Why do they chase you? – Kiba jumped ahead questioning them.

- They chased after something belongs to us, something we're also looking for – The boy answered – We came from another dimension!


	2. New Guests in Konoha

The whole ninja team just spaced out, forgot the fact that they're running for their lives followed by killing machines. Sakura was the first to snap out:

- There's Konoha! HELP! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! CALL FOR REINFORCEMENT!

The people in the village soon responded to her plea. The ninjas formed their rank to greet the injured and deal with the pursuers. Once they reached safety inside, Kiba called out:

- Akamaru! Take them to the hospital! Sakura, you go with them! Hinata and I will report to the Hokage!

- Ok. Naruto, come with me! They need special treatment right now.

The team dismissed. Akamaru slowly trotted alongside Sakura. The boy only now exhaled in relief, looking down to the girl in his arm. Her eyes still closed shut the whole time. No one knew whether she was sleeping or unconscious. One thing for sure was that her dress was dyed in red, and the color didn't come from her body.

- Thank you for helping us. We could never make it out alive if it weren't for you – The boy slightly bowed to express his gratitude, and held out his blood-dried hand – My name is Syaoran.

- We can't just ignore those in need. If you're not criminals, you're always welcome here. My name is Sakura and this is Naruto – She shook his hand.

- This is Kurogane, Fye, Sakura-hime – Syaoran introduced each of them, then held up something that looked like a white fur ball with long ears – And this is Mokona, the one that brought us here.

Naruto and Sakura looked at the tiny creature with obvious surprise. She sniffed looking at the princess:

- Fye lost too much blood, Sakura also lost her feather. Mokona is scared…

- What are you? – Naruto asked.

- Monoka is just Monoka. Everyone was cornered, Monoka just opened up a random magic circle to escape. Please help Monoka's friends!

- Don't worry Mokona – Sakura reassured – Sakura and Fye will be alright. Our medic-nins are the best. They'll heal your friends in a jiffy.

- Ninjas? That explains the way you guys fought – Kurogane blurted out – And so seem the whole village. Are all of you ninjas?

- Most of us, yes. Our village, along with some others, is where ninjas hide themselves from the outside world. There's our hospital – Sakura pointed – All of you can rest here. When you're all healed, our village leader Tsunade-sama will speak to you.

As soon as all of them entered the operation room, Sakura turned to Naruto:

- I don't usually ask you to do this, but you need to stay here and keep an eye on them. I'll go talk to Tsunade-sama. Don't let them out of your sight; we can't trust them just yet.

And she vanished in a pink blur.

Alone in front of the room, Naruto's gears started spinning to digest all of this. It all happened so fast, and all this thinking about these people that came from another dimension made his head hurt, so he decided to just obey Sakura's order. Then, the door opened and Syaoran stepped out, clean of blood and most of the injuries:

- It's amazing! All the doctors here work like magicians. They just sweep their hands on us and the wounds are already closed – He exclaimed.

- That's medical ninjutsu. Those medic-nins use their chakra to heal the wound – Naruto explained – Don't you have chakra?

Syaoran didn't seem to know what chakra means, but Kurogane, the one following him did:

- Chakra is another form of energy for ninjas to use their skills. Just like Fye has magic in him – He turned to Naruto – Look kid! We can't stay here for long. As soon as we find the feather of that princess, we're out of here. Hope you don't mind. We're outsider anyway.

- No problem – Naruto proudly said – You can count on me, the future Hokage to help you with everything I can. Believe it!

Kurogane scanned him from head to toe, as if estimating him, and decided to keep his opinion for himself and returned inside. Just in time Mokona jumped out and landed on Syaoran shoulder:

- Sakura-chan's safe now. Fye also falls asleep. Kuro-rin will stay and take care of them. Let's go find feather! Mokona wants to go "Mekyo"!

- Ok – Syaoran nodded and turned to Naruto – Can you show us around? We're probably going to stay here for some times.

- With pleasure, just follow me.

All three headed out of the hospital, unbeknown that they're being watched…


	3. The Scheme

- That's about the size of that, Hokage-sama – Kiba concluded his report.

- All right. You two can dismiss! I'll handle the rest of this – Tsunade glance behind her – Kakashi, make sure these people are within your sight! Bring them here as soon as they recover!

- Yes Hokage-sama – The silhouette outside the window replied before disappearing with a smoke.

- Sakura, I just received Kiba's report. How is their condition? – She turned back to her disciple who just entered.

- I left them with Naruto when they had their operation. One of them lost a lot of blood; the other two were heavily injured and the girl was unconscious, but they should have passed critical state by now. Their wounds are severed but not life threatening – She paused, and then continued – What do you think about their story?

- It's either the truth, or they have made up an outrageous lie. Konoha will be more than happy to help if they're telling the truth. Otherwise… - She let it hang – For the time being, they can stay here, but under surveillance.

- Yes, Hokage-sama!

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><p>Somewhere in the darkness, a big man sat in a giant chair, with black robe and a red symbol resemble a bat on his back. From somewhere behind him, a figure of a tall, slickly man with glass appeared.<p>

- How can they fall into such a place? What kind of failure are you trying to pull? – The big man demanded in a low but powerful voice.

- My deepest apologize, Fei Wong-sama. But I believe Yuuko has something to do with it – The man with glass replied with the slickest voice that matches his figure. He didn't seem to mind the wrath building up inside the man in front of him.

- I'm not an idiot. I can feel her. The problem is that you also knew about it and has done nothing to intervene – The man called Fei Wong rumbled, his face twisted with anger.

- A minor setback for a big leap, sire – The slick man answered with a smirk – Our men are still tailing them. We can interfere anytime we want.

Fei Wong didn't even bother to turn around. Instead, he focused his attention to a boy that just entered his vision. The boy kneeled down with respect, but otherwise didn't say a word.

- Ah! I see your errand boy has recovered – The slick man said – In the last battle he managed to wound them really bad, but he was almost killed as well. I hope he can be of use soon.

- That is not for you to decide, Kyle – Fei Wong cut him off – You will assist him in the next encounter. And you better not fail me this time or it will be your last.

- I wouldn't dare to do such a thing, sire – He lightly bowed, but keeping his smirk on his face – How about you, "Syaoran"? Think you can manage yourself better next time?

The boy only now raised his head, looked at Fei Wong with a blank stare, and he simply said with a monotone voice:

- I will get the feather back… no matter what.

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><p>- Dig in pal. This is the best ramen a man can have in his life. No need to hold back, this one's on me – Naruto grinned.<p>

Despite the blazing heat of the day and a series of mysterious events, nothing could stop the orange ninja and his new friends to come to Ichiraku Ramen. While Syaoran was still figuring out how to hold the chopstick, Mokona already slurped up a mouthful of noodle:

- This stuff is really good. Mokona bets Yuuko-san will love it.

- Oo's tat (who's that)? – Naruto asked, his mouth also full of noodle.

- She's the witch that gave us Mokona, help us traveling around dimensions – Syaoran replied before helping himself some ramen.

- There's really other dimension? – Naruto gulped down the soup – How can you guys do that? The traveling thingy, I mean?

- With magic, of course – Mokona answered proudly – Those with strong magic can go by themselves, those without magic can ask for Yuuko-san's help (_with a dreadful price, of course_). Mokona is responsible to take everyone from one dimension to another – The little creature stuck her chest out, if she has any chest at all.

Luckily, Monoka used very small words to explain, otherwise Naruto wouldn't understand a thing. But that didn't stop him from digging in to his second serving:

- You know, Sakura-chan told me to keep an eye on you guys, but I don't think that's necessary. I have the feeling you're the good guy. And I believe you.

- Thank you. We usually don't gain much trust from other people that easily when we entered their dimensions. You won't regret your decision, Naruto-kun – Syaoran smiled with gratitude.

Just as the boys finished their meals, Sakura rushed in. She looked similar to a kettle full of boiling water:

- NARUTO! I told you to keep an eye on them. How did it end up you inviting him for lunch? – She yanked one of his ears.

- Ow! Ow! Ow! I thought they're out of danger, I just thought some ramen would lighten them up, that's all!

- All right – She finally released him – But next time you pull that again, I'll strangle you. Got it? – Faced Syaoran, she change her tone almost instantly – Syaoran-kun, Hokage-sama wants to meet all of you as soon as you guys recovered. Would that be ok?

- Of course. I'll go back and check on my friends. As soon as we're ready you can show us the way.


	4. Flashback

As soon as the operation on Fye was over, and the medic-nins made sure that princess Sakura had no wound and just lost consciousness, they were moved into a patient room, followed by Kurogane. The setting sunlight shone through the silk curtain, imprinted its texture onto the floor. The black warrior sat right next to Fye's bed, looking at the sleeping princess across the room. Her face was slightly contorted.

_Must been remembering about "that boy"…_Kurogane thought as he himself was also having a flashback about their previous battle…

…

_- FYE! GET THE FEATHER AND THE KIDS! – He yelled as loud as he could while blocking the blades from his enemies._

_- We can't! The barrier is still on! – Sakura shouted back as she shot her laser gun frantically, fending off the machine soldiers._

_- The shield's too powerful, my power alone can't break through – Fye tried his best to hold on to his bleeding chest, his extended claws chop off the head of one approaching robot – Syaoran-kun! Is the spell still not ready yet?_

_Syaoran didn't seem to hear it, as he continued to chant the spell, but his mind was torn apart knowing his companions around him couldn't hold off much longer. Time was running out. One powerful explosion could destroy those soldiers in one sweep, hut he needed to focus everything he had into piercing through the barrier, since Fye could no longer use his magic as effective as before. The spell needed to be completed as fast as possible…_

_- No way… KIDS! HURRY UP! HE'S HERE! – Kurogane was stunned for a brief moment as the sight of his new enemy…_

"_Syaoran" rushed toward him with lightning speed. Kurogane slashed a strike at him, but he cancelled it easily with just one swing of his sword, and his speed didn't slow down for even a second. He was so close now. All the black warrior could do was holding his sword in front of him to somehow deflect the attacker. Sakura swiftly pointed her gun at "Syaoran" but her fingers suddenly defied the command to pull the trigger. Right before she could muster up her courage…_

_KABOOM!_

_A column of flame erupted right where Kurogane was standing, engulfing him along with "Syaoran". All of the soldiers were blown away due to the air pressure. Sakura was also knocked back into the pedestal that held the feather._

_- I'm done! HERE WE GO! – Syaoran shouted, held his hands around the barrier as yellow light started to crack from inside the magic sphere protecting the memory of the princess into million pieces. As soon as he grasped his hand around the delicate feather, he spun to the princess now lying on the ground unmoving._

_- Oh no you don't! – A voice suddenly sounded right above them and Syaoran froze as he heard something clicked right above his head._

_- That feather will be given to her eventually – Kyle smirked, the gun in his hand pointed directly at Syaoran's head – but not right now! I'll be taking it back if you don't mind._

_Just as he finished his sentence, a sword slashed right at his back and a kick sent him flying across the room. Kurogane immediately replaced him with Fye limping on his shoulder, blood pouring out from their bodies._

_- NOW! FUR BALL! – He yelled._

_Magic circle shone under them, right on the floor around them, as Mokona slowly drifting upward. Kyle let out a grunt and slowly got on his feet. As soon as he caught a glimpse of the magic circle, he held up his gun and shot, not even bothering aiming…_

…

- Uhm…hm… Kuro-pyon! Am I dead yet? – Fye stirred lightly.

- Not yet, but I can fix that if you want. – He replied with a scowl. The question snapped him back to reality.

- What about the other two? – He tried sitting up with not much difficulty. His wounds took quite a token on him, but his power, new and old together, had saved him.

- I wouldn't worry about them. The boy is out exploring, and she's right next to you. Why the hell did you jump in? "He" could have killed us both if it weren't for what's left of your damn magic. – He kept his voice as normal as possible, but his anger was boiling inside.

- And the kids too if I didn't reflect it right back at "him". A spell of that level normally wouldn't do us much harm, but in that situation…

- And to top it off, that son of a bitch just had to shoot the feather out of the boy's hand – Kurogane clenched his fists.

- Fortunately it fell into this world with us; I'm sure about that, just in different location. All we have to do now is to find it – Fye sighed in relief.

- Unless "he" find it first. – Kurogane snorted.

Just in time, Sakura slightly stirred. The man stood up and came to her to check. Her eyelids started to flutter, and then suddenly opened as she sprang from her bed.

- Syaoran-kun! NO! – She screamed, her hand reached out for an illusion, but quickly felt her head swaying.

- Easy girl! It's over. We're safe! – Kurogane held her shoulders as gently as a rough warrior could and shoved her back into bed – We're in another world already, Konoha. You just hit your head, girl. Lie down!

- What about Syaoran-kun? Fye-san? What about you? – She resisted without success as she found her head came into contact with the pillow.

- We're all fine, don't worry – Fye reassured her – Syaoran-kun is out with Monoka. They should be back in any minute.

- You should use this time to rest as much as you can – Kurogane said – That "kid" will try to catch up to us, no doubt.

Sakura didn't say anything, but her face saddened and tear begun to swell up in the corners of her eyes. But she held it back by holding her hands together. Fye put a hand on her cheek and smiled:

- Don't worry Sakura-chan. We'll get our "Syaoran" back. Be strong! If he's true to you then he will definitely come back.

She nodded and forced a smile before falling back into her slumber. Fye also retreated to his bed and comfortably dove into the pillow. As he was about to cover himself with the blanket, the door swung open and a man with mask and silver spiky hair walked in, in his hand was an orange book with the title "Icha Icha Tactics: Limited Edition". His right eye only left the page to look at them in a second:

- Oh! I see you have covered quite well. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have received order to escort you to Hokage-sama as soon as you recovered. Would you mind?

- Of course not – Fye answered before Kurogane even had the chance to open his mouth – But I'm not quite well yet, so I think my friend here will come with you. Beside, the sleeping beauty here may need some help to clue her in when she's awake again.

- That's alright. Your friend will fill you out after our meeting. Rest well then – Kakashi turned his back on them to guide Kurogane out, his eye glued back to the book.


	5. Arrangement

A/N: From this chapter on I'll start to add some more details to my original story. I can't believe the early version sucks so bad. R&R plz, any review would mean so much for my inexperience writing skill.

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><p>As Kakashi and Kurogane reached Tsunade's office, they found Syaoran, Naruto and Sakura were already there waiting for them. Syaoran just gave Kurogane a simple nod, and they all entered. Behind the desk in the office was Tsunade, her elbows were on the table and her hands supporting her face. A woman in black yukata was standing besides her holding a piglet in one arm and a file of paper in another. There was a big window behind the desk and a tall, rigid man was leaning against it, his face was covered by a nasty scar. Tsunade stood up:<p>

- Thank you for coming here in your condition. I'm Tsunade and the Hokage of this village. This is my assistant Shizune and the leader of the interrogation squad Ibiki.

Kurogane threw a glance to the man by the window as he was introduced. _We're obviously not welcome here…_

- Thank you for saving us and providing us such hospitality, Hokage-sama – Syaoran bowed with respect and there was no hint of sarcasm in his voice, but Tsunade still raised an eyebrow – We understand as much that you can't trust outsiders easily, so we'll be willing to cooperate with the interrogation if it can set you at ease.

- Aw, come on oba-chan, it's that really necessary? – Naruto winced and instantly got a whack on his head by Sakura.

- It long take long, I'll just perform a scan on their memories. Hope you don't mind – Ibiki stepped off from the window and approached Syaoran.

He gave the man a nod. He formed some hand seals, and put his hand on the boy's head. The hand started to glow and suddenly Syaoran felt a jolt on his body. He found himself drifting through a stream of his own memory. The images swirled and flashed before his eyes so fast he couldn't keep up. His father… Yuuko… His uncle with his evil smirk… His clone… The journey… The feathers… Just as he could get a hold of himself, he was standing in the office again, his spine shivered a little.

- I just scanned your memory, it's not a funny experience, but it'll go away soon – Ibiki stepped aside – Tell Hokage-sama what we need to know. And beware; I know when you're lying.

Syaoran nodded and he told the rest of the room what happened to him, how he ended up captured by his uncle, how he managed to reach the little group of "Syaoran", and how they all ended up here. He tried to avoid the fact about "Syaoran" and constantly glanced at Ibiki whenever the story reached some parts about "him", but the man didn't interrupt, even when he tried to hide the fact about Fye's new power.

_I didn't lie, but I didn't tell the truth either. Why didn't he stop me? Is what I'm hiding not a threat?_

There was a long silence when he finished. Tsunade during the whole time didn't get her eyes off of him. Finally, she spoke:

- Knowing that you're not a threat for this village is enough for me. You can dismiss, Ibiki – Tsunade nodded and Ibiki disappeared from the room. Obviously she too didn't miss his constant glance at Ibiki, but she didn't voice it. She had faith in her interrogation squad's captain. The boy _was_ hiding something, but if he didn't say anything about it, that meant it was not dangerous. Tsunade continued – So what are you people gonna do now? Is not like I can't provide a search team to assist, but if there's nothing to search…

- There's the feather we got from the previous world! – Monoka wailed – It fell with us here, Mokona just has to find it. Monoka cans feel it. If Mokona doesn't go "Mekyo", Mokona won't go anywhere!

- Calm down little bunny – Tsunade held up her hand – I didn't say anything about kicking you out until you find your feather. If only you can find it then there's no reason to waste effort on a search team, and that means less paperwork for me – She looked at the pile of papers on her desk with disgust.

_If only she didn't try to sneak out for sake everytime I turned my back on her…_ Shizune sighed.

- Now, if you're going to stay here while searching for that feather of yours, I can suggest a few inns. But I suppose you don't have any of our money, do you?

- Unfortunately, we don't Hokage-sama. Normally we trade stuff we have in previous dimensions for money, as well as cloths, but our last encounter with my uncle's minions didn't give us much time to gather our belongings – answered Syaoran.

- Say no more. I can guess as much from your story. You can stay at the Hyuuga estate during this time.

- But Hokage-sama, the Hyuugas strictly forbidden outsiders, even people from the village are rarely invited inside – Shinuze protested.

- Oops! That won't do. Then how about… - She paused for a minute to consider her choices. When she spoke, her eyes were on Sakura and Naruto - … the Uchiha estate?

Both two young ninja and Kakashi froze as they heard the name "Uchiha". Naruto jumped up at her desk:

- What were you thinking oba-chan? They can crash at my place, or the house of other clan, why the Uchiha? – He hissed through his teeth so that the only one could hear him was Tsunade.

- Your apartment is a mess, and they still need hygiene living environment to fully heal. The Inuzuka, Nara and Aburame are out of the question too. The Akimichi is ok, but there's too many family members, it'll cause a ruckus – She glared back at him, also lowered her voice – Beside, after the incident, the Sandaime geezer already had that place cleaned up.

- But why? Why would that place, of all the places?

- Then name a place that they can stay, and I'll be happy to send them there.

This got him to shut up. He couldn't think of any place better. The Yamanaka and the Haruno houses popped up in his mind but were soon discarded. They would never let so many strange men stayed at their houses, around their daughters. Sakura came and gently pulled him back. She was also hurt about the decision, but simply chose not to let it out. The name Uchiha brought back to them so many memories, happy and sorrow all together. Naruto's reaction didn't get past their guests though:

- Uhm, if it's inconvenient for you to provide us shelter, we rather not pry on your hospitality. – Syaoran began.

- It's no big deal. The Uchiha estate was abandoned for years, nobody lives there now. He's just overreacting since one of the Uchiha was his friend and he left him a while ago.

- It's a long story and we rather not talk about it, please don't ask and just accept our offer – Sakura said, still holding on to Naruto. Her voice's almost like a whisper.

- Alright. We'll ask no further question – Kurogane put a hand on Syaoran's shoulder – Let's go kid! We need to bring Fye and Sakura to that estate.

- Naruto, Sakura! Escort them and help them if necessary. Kakashi will be on standby if you need him – Tsunade sat back in her chair, indicated that the meeting was over – Now if you excuse me, I need to finish this pile of document by tomorrow morning – She threw a glare at Shizune who grinned painfully back at her, knowing this would be a very long night for both of them…


	6. Tranquility or Not!

A/N: I'm not quite sure about this Fye of mine. He seems a little bit OOC, isn't he? What do you think?

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><p>The gate creaked loudly in protest as Naruto and Sakura opened the entrance to the estate. Nobody lived here anymore so the only thing they bothered to take care of is keeping the dust from getting collected over the furniture. After it got abandoned, Tsunade had made sure that it must be kept as it was. Naruto really appreciated that, though he never said it out loud. He and Sakura came to clean up once in a while when they didn't have mission, just not so often. Syaoran carried the princess to the living room where she could lie comfortably in his lap with Fye and Kurogane, while the ninjas went and prepared the bedrooms. Fye's sense caught a smell in the air, and he whispered to Kurogane:<p>

- I can smell something horrible took place here. Can you sense it?

- It's faint, but yeah, there _is_ something here. Something nasty… - Kurogane narrowed his eyes - What do you think about these people?

- Tsunade the Hokage seems decent; she arranged this place for us after all. And Sakura, well, she even has the same name as our Sakura-chan, and she seems ok to me.

- I know, but what about that boy Naruto? I can sense his chakra, and it's something I've never felt before.

- Me too. What about it?

- His amount of chakra is at least a hundred time mine. And it gives out an evil vibe. I don't like it one bit. It's like there's a complete different chakra aside from his, and it has a mind of its own.

- I can sense it too – Syaoran interrupted – but I don't think he's dangerous. The power he holds may be vast, but that doesn't determine the person.

- I agree. He reminds me of you, Syaoran-kun – Fye smiled – but a little less serious.

- Whatever – Kurogane rolled his eyes – I still don't trust that boy. His innocent face might be just a façade.

At that moment, they heard footstep approaching, and Kurogane sealed his lips in an instant.

- There's not much here, but there's plenty of rooms and the beds are ready – Sakura slid the doors open – you guys can use the rooms on the right wing, and Sakura-hime can sleep in the one on the left.

- Thank you very much Sakura-san – said Syaoran – I'd like to stay with Sakura-hime for the time being. When she gets better I'll join Fye-san and Kurogane-san.

- That's ok. We'll also stay here for the night, in case you guys need anything. We'll be in the rooms on the second floor. Good night then! – After that, the door was closed and they could hear the footstep getting distant.

- Well, I guess we should turn in early. We had a rough day, and there's work tomorrow. Come on, Kuro-pyon – Fye stood up, dragging an angry Kurogane along to their room, followed by Syaoran with the sleeping princess.

As the light turned off, the moon shone through the paper window, revealing a Fye lying in his futon, while Kurogane still sitting. He pulled out a dagger from his waist, and put a clean cut on his arm:

- You don't get to sleep yet, bastard. You lost too much blood in the last fight. Here's your meal – He held out his arm, the stream of crimson fluid slowly flowed under, lingered threateningly to drop on the futon.

Fye sat up, carefully lick off the drop before it had the chance to fall, then continued to suck from the cut without complain. He knew better than to argue with his companion about this matter. After all, this is what Kurogane had taken upon himself for saving him, and he couldn't say anything about that. Under the moonlight, the only sound that cut through the silence were the wind blowing the leaves and the natural violin of the crickets, sometimes got disrupted by the sucking sound of Fye. But those weren't the only sound the blond man could hear:

- It seems that we're being watched, don't you think? – Fye licked off the remaining blood on his lips.

- We _are_ being watched, damn it! Those brats… - Kurogane growled, and suddenly thrust his sword upward, pierced through the crack between the woods, and stopped at where Naruto's face was just a second ago.

- Come down here brat, I know you've been watching us! – He snarled.

- You saw us anyway, so we better give you a full explanation. We don't want to cause any commotion here you know – Fye looked up directly at the crack with a playful smile, but his blue eye glowed into yellow with a slid that resembles that of a cat's eye.

Naruto had bounced back just in time, otherwise the tip of the sword would end up between his forehead. His face was as white as a sheet. Sakura on the other hand, was full of silent rage. She gave him a blazing glare:

- I told you not to sneak up on them, dofus - She said that, but she was also the accomplice that agreed with him in the first place. _What was I thinking letting him talked me into this?_ – Now what?

The blade implanted from beneath started moving and cut a clean hole on the floor. Naruto and Sakura immediately pulled out their kunais, but before any of them could act or move, Kurogane and Fye already jumped up from the hole. The black warrior pointed his sword to Naruto's neck, causing the ninja to fall on his back; the blade hovered deadly from his face.

- One wrong move, and your head will fall, brat – he threatened – What are you doing spying on us like that?

- Now now, Kuro-pyon, the cat's already out of the bag – Fye put a hand on his shoulder, the other held up to catch a punch from Sakura – Why don't we sit down and talk like civilized people, rather than try to take each other's life like this.

Nobody said anything, nor dared to move an inch. The silence between them, exclude the blond man, was increasing to a deafening level. But it didn't last long…

- Fye-san, Kurogane-san! What happened? I heard noise… – Syaoran barged in from outside, stunned by the scene before him – What are you doing? – He asked, eyes widen, unable to believe what he saw.

- I think we should start all over again and tell them everything, Syaoran-kun – Fye tapped on Kurogange's shoulder again to make him lower his sword, also released his hold on Sakura's fist – These two youngsters here saw me having my meal, and they're quite shock.

The warrior frowned and reluctantly withdrew his blade, still pointing at Naruto.

- What are you people? – Sakura asked, her hand still numbed from the grip, something that rarely happens – Why were you sucking your friend's blood as your "meal"?

- Calm down Sakura-san – Fye held up his hands – We'll start from the very beginning, but on one condition…

- You creep are busted, and you still want condition? – Naruto managed to stand up – Sakura-chan! I'll hold them off; you go and warn oba-chan!

Much to everyone surprised, Sakura slowly lowered her hands and kunais, starred directly at Fye's eye.

- Alright, what condition?

- We'll tell you all about us. In return, you tell us about what happened in this estate, and the "thing" inside Naruto-kun. Deal?

Silence, all eyes rested on Sakura. Naruto clenched his teeth. They would never reveal what happened here to strangers, but they couldn't afford to cause a ruckus in here either. This is his best friend's only place he could return to. He wanted to keep it as it was. The hole on the floor was already too much. Thought raced inside his head trying to figure out a solution. Before he could say anything, Sakura already opened her mouth:

- Deal!


	7. Moment of Truth

They all sat down in circle around the hole. Nobody cared to patch it up right now. Sakura and Naruto were sweating like hell, while Kurogane was looking at them as if his look could pierce through their body. Fye's finger glowed as he traced it in thin air, and he started drawing something that looked like a feather:

- As you know from the story Syaoran told you, we were searching for this kind of feather – He explained the picture – but that's not all of it. From what I heard, he might left out some… sensitive details.

- I'm truly sorry – Syaoran bowed so low his forehead touched the floor - I tried to word it to look like I joined them not long after their travel. Ibiki-san scanned my memory, so he knows everything, but when I told you differently, he said nothing. He might think the information I concealed was not dangerous, but now I know how wrong he was. The truth is… I've been traveling with them since the beginning… through my clone.

Naruto and Sakura froze.

- My uncle has a desire to put time and space under his control. He captured me in order to make a clone out of me, to serve him. With the clone, he could send him to Sakura-hime to do his bidding: collecting the feathers when they scattered throughout dimensions. The clone has a conscious of itself, but the core command to retrieve the feathers remained.

- During the cloning process, I sealed my left eye into his with half of my magic and my heart, to nurture his own heart. Thanks to that, I could observe what he's done, who he's met. But since it was not his, eventually it would be rejected and went back to me. If by that time he could develop a heart for himself, he would no longer be under my uncle's control and I could leave him be, but if not…

- …You would finish him yourself, right? – Sakura ended his sentence for him – And let me guess, you failed?

- Unfortunately, yes. He failed to have a heart, and I failed to end his life – Syaoran closed his eyes in pain.

- I knew he was a clone sometimes during our travel, but I didn't do anything – Fye continued – I didn't want to reveal that I can still use my magic. Besides, I still hoped that with all the connection he had with us, his own heart could be born. When the eye got rejected, I tried to seal it back, risking everything, but I also failed – He chuckled sourly – I even gave him the opportunity to steal my eye and half of my magic.

- But wait a sec – Sakura interrupted – If this Fei Wong guy wants to control time and space, what does that have anything to do with you guys traveling through dimensions?

- It's Sakura-hime's body that he wants. By luring us to travel between worlds collecting the feathers, memory and power her body gathered in each world will help him achieving his goal. We knew continuing the journey is exactly what he wants us to do, but we need to find my clone, and bring him back to us.

- That princess wants him back, and she's even more stubborn than I am – Kurogane crossed his arms – but we agreed to go with her, and there's no going back. This idiot here had his eye taken from him, almost died, so I asked the witch who helped us travel to help turn him into a vampire, some kind of creature that needs blood to live.

- Half-vampire only – Fye corrected, and seeing Naruto's face went white, he chuckled – and don't worry about me running about sucking blood. I was bound the moment I was transformed: I can only drink his blood to survive, and it's not so frequent, so both he and I can still live.

Seeing that color has come back to Naruto's face, Sakura asked:

- So Syaoran, where is your clone now?

- The last time we saw him was when we tried to retrieve a feather in the previous world. It was an ambush set up by my uncle. He appeared when we were weakest, but we managed to escape here. I got the feather, but his accomplice shot it out of my hand just as we began to disappear. Mokona was sure that it fell with us to this world, but she can't pinpoint where. I'm sure he will try to chase after us to get it back, since I heard from his accomplice that it wasn't meant to return to the princess at that moment.

There was silence. For a while nobody said anything, while the young ninjas digested the new information. Naruto during the time maintained eye contact with Syaoran. All this secrets could shatter anyone's trust. But Syaoran looked back; felt that it was necessary to do so. His amber eyes met with Naruto's blue ones. Perhaps this was the only way he could show him that he was telling the truth, and now there's no more secret between them…

_**They lied to you. They are enemies, just like the rest of the village who used to lie to you…**_

_Shut up, old fox. I didn't ask for your advice._

_**But you know I'm speaking the truth. He might look innocent now, but who knows, he might stab you on the back the moment you turn away, just like your friend Sasuke…**_

_I SAID SHUT UP! Don't you dare talk about him! He just lost, and I will bring him back. I trusted him, just like I'm going to trust Syaoran…_

_**Stop lying to yourself, brat. These are complete strangers, what can you possibly gain from trusting them? You don't know anything about th…**_

_I just did. They just told us everything. And I believe them._

_**Naïve! Humans are so naïve…**_

_That's what makes us human: believe in each other._

_**Hmph!**_

_If only you could be half this violence. You lend me your power before. If you're that bad, you would crush me with your chakra alone._

_**Just because of this damn seal I…**_

_Yeah, yeah! Whatever! You couldn't take over me because of the seal. You said that a hundredth time already…_

- What about you? Are you gonna tell us what we want to know? – Kurogane's question jerked Naruto and Syaoran out of their eyes contact and Naruto from his private conversation.

Now it's the ninjas's turn to look at each other. Revealing any kind of information to outsiders was forbidden, let alone something this devastating. But they had made a deal with Fye…

- I'm only a half-vampire, but a vampire nonetheless. I can still smell the blood lingered here even if it's a long time ago. And by the amount of blood, my guess is there was a slaughter here. And don't forget Kuro-rin here was once a ninja. He can sense whatever's inside you, Naruto-kun.

Naruto and Sakura stiffened. It's no use trying to hide now…

- Alright, we'll tell you – Sakura began – This estate was once belonged to one of the most powerful clan in Konoha: the Uchiha. About nine year ago, a mass murder took place here. We don't know the detail, but there're only two survivors: our best friend Uchiha Sasuke and… and…

-… His brother, and also the murderer: Uchiha Itachi – Naruto finished, his fist slammed to the floor. Sakura sighed heavily.

Silence once more…

- We're sorry for the lost of your friend, Naruto-kun – Syaoran lightly bowed his head – But then, where is he now?

- He left – Sakura hastily wiped her eyes – He wanted to get revenge, and he seeks forbidden power for that. I… N-Naruto… W-we tried to stop him… but… but…

She clenched her jaws tightly to hold back the tear, but her body was shaking. Naruto put a hand on her shoulder, gently pulled her to him for a comfort embrace. Fye felt a slight wave of guilt rippling inside for forcing them to tell him this, and for a moment, they remained silent until Sakura regained her composure. Finally, she looked up at her friend:

- Well, that's one secret down. The next is yours, you want me to tell it or…?

Sakura cut herself off when Naruto slowly stood up and unzipped his cloak, lift his shirt up so the seal on his stomach could be seen bared. Fye and Kurogane leaned close to observe while Syaoran looked perplexed. He calmly said:

- See this? This is a seal that I got when a monster, a Bijuu, was sealed inside of me. I'm a Jinchuuriki, and I'm carrying a demon fox… a Kyuubi.

- What? Don't joke with me! – Kurogane spat, his eyes widen – That monster is only a legend!

- In your world, may be, but not in mine. He's real, and he's inside me, whether you believe it or not – Naruto snapped back.

- Well Kuro-pyon, you felt it yourself, and I think you know what this means – Fye jerked a thumb at the seal - Even I know that this is a high level seal, similar to some magic circles I used to use.

- Unbelievable! – Kurogane shifted to have a closer look; then looked up to Naruto – So what about your chakras and your minds? Did they merge?

- Only our chakra. Our minds are still separated. Otherwise I'll be on a rampage by now.

- I see – Kurogane sighed in relief – I thought we're dealing with an encaged monster, but apparently you got it under control. Normally after some time, the chakra of the host and the Bijuu start merging together, followed by the mind. But I can see that this seal, whatever kind it is, prevent that. The only problem is that both your lives are connected. If you die, or the Kyuubi is extracted from you with the wrong method, you and the Bijuu might die.

- That's why there was so many people wanted me death… - Naruto spoke, trailed off in surprise by the knowledge of the former ninja, as if the man grew up in Konoha himself.

- So it's settled – Fye lied back on his back after a moment of silence, completely relaxed – Kuro-rin here was worried that you might jump on us anytime, since he couldn't trust that Kyuubi of yours yet. But now everything's fine. I guess we can relax now and get some proper shut eye.

Everyone nodded. Even the ninjas were getting use to the idea of the vampire. Outside, from a tree branch, Kakashi smiled under his mask and vanished away. It seemed that everything would be just fine…

…Or so they thought…

* * *

><p>- WhAt iS tHaT? – A gruff voice asked.<p>

- I don't know. It looks like some kind of feather – A calm voice answered – It's emitting an enormous amount of power.

- Power? You mean chakra? – Another hoarse voice asked – I can feel it too, might be on equal terms with me. But Samehada doesn't pick up anything.

- Because it's not chakra. Although, it has some similarities – The calm voice replied.

- Do you think we can use it? – A fourth voice sounded, a female voice.

- I'll look into it. If Akatsuki can control this thing, capturing that Naruto kid will be a walk in the park…


	8. Friendly Match

**A/N****:** This is my first attempt to describe a fight. I had to went through the CCS series and the TRC series to grasp a little about Syaoran technique. I really hope I didn't mess him up. This can be viewed as a little filler, but it contributes a little to the Naruto-Syaoran combo later in the story. R&R plz!

* * *

><p>SLAP!<p>

Sakura opened her eyes to a hand on her face, twitching. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, slowly got up and turned to the owner of that hand. Naruto had rolled out of his futon and hit her in his wake; drool flowed all the way from the pillow to where his mouth rested. She gritted her teeth to squeeze the desire of punching him senseless and walked out of the room, didn't forget to stomp on the poor boy's stomach, snapped him out of his dream.

- Hurgh! What just happened? – Naruto slurred on the floor, curled up due to the pain.

- You happened, that's what! You really know how to wake up a girl! – And she stormed out of the room.

Rubbing his eyes, Naruto sat up to see the sunlight has penetrated the paper windows. Didn't even care to fold the futons, he shoved them lazily back to the closet, then dragged himself along the hall, swayed down the stair, and almost hit his face in the sink when he entered the bathroom. Nobody realized that last night's conversation ended at 2AM, way out of his biological clock. No wonder he woke up so late, and now his stomach was rumbling.

_No one lives here means no food. I should have brought some ramen cups with me. May be I'll get something for Syaoran and the other as well._

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

- Naruto! Sakura! You guys wake up yet? – Kakashi's voice muffled from the distance.

- Coming sensei! – Sakura rushed out to open the gate.

- I figure you won't get anything to eat here, so I brought some bento over. How about the other? – For once, he didn't have his favorite novel in his hand.

- I don't know. We just woke up too. We've been… talking late last night – She carefully added and Kakashi hid a smile under his mask.

- Good morning Sakura-san! Good morning Kakashi-san! – Syaoran walked up to them, Mokona sit proudly on his head.

- Ooh! Breakfast! Yummy! – Mokona jumped up to the bag of bento, sniffing it eagerly.

- I also brought some clothes for you to change into. Your outfits might attract some attention from the villagers – Kakashi jerked a thumb on the backpack behind him.

- Thank you Kakashi-san. The others should be awake now. Let's go inside!

Fye and Kurogane were already up and sitting in the living room, while princess Sakura were relaxing at the side porch, her eyes gazed into the garden. She bowed politely at the ninjas.

- Syaoran-kun just told me about you and your help. Thank you for taking care of us in this time of need – She smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

- You're welcomed, Sakura-hime. If you ever need anything, just ask away – Kakashi replied while setting the bento and backpack on the floor.

- We wouldn't impose – Syaoran said – This estate is far beyond what we would expect from your generosity. We'll try to locate the feather and we'll leave the moment we find it. My uncle is still chasing us; we don't want to turn him into your enemy.

- First thing first, kid – Kurogane handed him a bento box – You have to fill your stomach before planning to do anything.

They gathered around, engaging conversation while enjoying breakfast. Mokona had no problem gulfing down a whole box, and even temped to sneak some from Kurogane's, who constantly batted the little fur ball out of reach. Syaoran turned to Naruto:

- We will be here for a while, but during our stay we still like to stay in shape. Is there any large space around here? I'd like to work on my skills.

- Yeah! There's the training ground we use on the west side. What kind of training is that?

- Mostly magic, but I also train martial art as well. My father taught me everything he knows.

- That's so cool – Naruto's eyes lit up – Can I watch? We don't have anything to do anyway. I can use some time to vent too.

- Well, I'll pass that – Fye said – I'd like to see around here for a bit, but I know someone might like to join you – He glanced over Kurogane, who also smiled cockily at what Naruto said.

- You can do whatever you want, I'll show you around. – Sakura poured some tea for herself.

- Then let's do just that – Kakashi put away his box, when did he finish it was a mystery with his mask always on – I'll have to report something to Hokage-sama so I'll be going shortly then.

They left the mansion shortly after the group got changed. Kakashi got them some Jounin vests, civilan garments, and also a cream yukata for the princess. Kurogane quietly followed the boys to the training ground, happy to stay away from the annoying Mokona and Fye, while the two Sakura and Fye headed for the market. The ground was a large field, with three wooden pillars and a river next to it. Wind blew softly to clear the rising hot air, carrying the cool leaves from the forest to the boys. Syaoran clapped his hands together and pulled out a sword from the palm of his left hand. Naruto dropped his jaw in awe:

- Wow! That is so cool! I was wondering where you keep your weapon. I saw you used it yesterday but then I didn't see it anywhere.

- It's easier to carry around, and to avoid unwanted attention. This sword belongs to my father. He gave it to me when I start my travel, before I got captured by my uncle. Please stand back a little; my spells affect quite an area.

He swung the sword to his side and started moving. The skills he was performing looked similar to Taijutsu, but with much more grace and accuracy. The punches, the kicks were as fierce as Lee's, but with grace like Neji's and Tenten's. Suddenly, Syaoran froze with his sword pointed to the ground. He mumbled something, and his sword got warped up with chanted spell, a magic circle appeared under him. The blade glowed and vibrated in his hand:

- RAITEI SHOURAI! – Syaoran shouted, and struck the sword upward.

A jet of purple light burst out from the tip of his sword, spiraled skyhigh. Kurogane held up his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light while Naruto got knocked backward. His hair stood all on end. His whole body felt like it was hit by lightning, literally. The sound of thunder cracked up above them and then dissipated. The ground where Syaoran stood fumed under his feet.

- AWESOME! That's just like Sasuke's Chidori, only much cooler! – The blond ninja jump up and ran over.

- That's one of my elemental spell. I can only control fire, thunder and wind at best. I can also control water but not as well.

- That is cool already. We ninjas have elemental chakra too, but we can only use two or three. You're really strong already when you can do all that. OK, how about a spar with me? – He clapped his hands.

- Spar? Sounds like fun. Can I join? – Kurogane stepped up and unsheathed his sword – You two can come at me anytime.

- Heh! I was getting fired up here! Here I come! – Naruto spun to dash toward Kurogane, with Syaoran followed right next to him.

The black warrior struck the ground with his sword. Earth cracked, all of a sudden a small earthquake was sent in their direction. The boys jumped to the sides to avoid it, but Kurogane was faster. He charged to Syaoran, their swords clashing. Naruto formed a hand seal and called up his signature shadow clones to lung at the two. Shuriken and kunai rained down on the man as Syaoran jumped away, but he blocked them all just by flicking his sword with deadly accuracy. Syaoran lunged to strike again right before the clones closing the distance. Locked their swords to flip Syaoran over, Kurogane turned and swiped a giant strike at the clones. They disappeared into smoke. But right at that moment, Naruto charged up from behind with something spinning in his hand…

- Rasengan! – He shouted, launching the chakra ball forward with all his might.

Blinding light and smoke enveloped all three of them. Kurogane got shot out of it first, his whole body spinning in mid air before he could adjust to land safely. The sword in his hand shook with excitement.

- Nice justsu kid! Got anything else? – If it weren't for the sword, the man might end up with a hole on his stomach, yet he still smirked.

- Naruto-kun! Can you do that technique again? A have a wind spell that may go well with it – Syaoran asked from over the smoke, his eyes flickered with fire.

- Sure thing! I don't know if chakra and magic can combine but no hurt trying – Naruto made a clone to form another Rasengan – By the way, my chakra is wind type too.

Kurogane crouched waiting for the boys to prepare their attack. The chakra ball has taken form in Naruto's hand, while Syaoran silently chant a new spell, warping the ball with some green light, making it grew immensely.

- I need to maintain contact with it until the last minute, so we have to charge together – Syaoran murmured enough for only Naruto to hear.

The boys nodded and dashed forward. Naruto's clone took the lead to distract the warrior, but to no avail. With just one swipe, he poof back into smoke. Kurogane slashed right in the middle of the boys as they approached, where the ball was held…

POOF!

Kurogane's eyes widen. The boys have vanished, replaced by a couple of logs. _Substitution justu!_

- Damn it! – He cursed, and spun just in time to his attackers, now behind him.

KABOOM!

His sword blocked part of the attack, but the energy emitted was too powerful. The ball exploded into million strings of chakra, cut and lashed and blew all three of them in every direction like million tiny blades. Dust and smoke got winded up so thick nobody could see a thing. When everything got quiet again, Syaoran called out:

- Naruto-kun, Kurogane-san! Where are you? Are you alright?

The grunt and groan from the other two answered him. They got up and find the way out of the thick layer of dust. Small cuts were everywhere on their bodies, and their cloths were now racked. Kurogane huffed:

- That… was some justu! What did you guys do?

- We combine my magic with his… Rasengan. I didn't think it was that powerful – He wiped his face, now covered in sweat, blood and dirt.

- I have a similar jutsu just like that – Naruto coughed and spit out some soil - Rasen Shuriken, with my wind element mixed in with my chakra. It's way more powerful, I only bring that out as a last resort, or there'll be nothing left of us.

- Nice tag-team kids, but you might want to plan it out first – Kurogane looked at his sword, it was bent to a weird angle and covered in scratches, but otherwise undamaged – At least now you know magic and chakra can go well together.

All of them grinned happily, despite fact that they just cheated death for a friendly match. Syaoran made his sword disappear and held out his hand for Naruto to shake:

- Thank you for helping me spars today. I learnt a great deal about ninja fighting style just by cooperate with you.

- No problem! You guys are really strong. I like that. We should do this more often before you guys leave. I can get my friends to spar with us, too. Their styles are way different than mine. Believe it!

- We can do just that kid! – Kurogane laughed – we can do just that…


	9. Hebi move out!

The market was as crowded as ever. Voice of people here and there bargained for the goods they wanted to buy. All the shops filled with various merchandises. Mokona was so excited she practically spun on Fye's head to see all around them. Considering their stay, Sakura led them to buy some food. Mokona already pointed out to her that Fye's an excellent cook, so it would be great if she and Naruto can taste some of his dishes. She bounced on his head:

- … And Fye can also make super yummy cake! Mokona always loves Fye's muffin!

- Those are for desert, right? – Sakura asked – Sounds good. We'll definitely come and try some.

- Good morning, Sakura!

Both Sakura looked ahead to see a boy in white cloth approached them. He had long black hair that reached his hips, and his eyes were milk white just as his outfit. Behind him were another boy and a girl. The boy wore a leaf-green spandex covered most of his body. His arms and hands warped with bandage. Yellow leg-warmer held tightly around his shins. The girl next to him had two hair buns on her head, white long sleeve shirt and dark red pants. What drew attention to her was a giant scroll she hung behind her back. Sakura waved a hand to greet them:

- Oh hi Neji-kun! Let me introduce you. These are Fye, Sakura and Mokona. They…

- … come from another world? I heard from Hinata-sama yesterday. At first I didn't believe her, but then she never lie – Looked to Fye, he bowed – My name is Neji Hyuuga, cousin of the other girl you met that rescued you, and these are my teammates: Rock Lee and Tenten.

Lee gave them a wink, but mostly for the pink-haired ninja. His eyes as bright as the sun:

- Your power of youth must be great when you can travel trough dimensions like that – He held up a thumb and smiled showing his sparkling teeth - But the journey might be dangerous. I'd like to ask if there's any fighter among you. I really want to test my strength against them.

- Oh boy, here we go again… - Tenten rubbed a palm over her face.

- Actually, each of us can pretty much take care of ourselves – Fye glanced at the princess and continued – But if you really want to have a challenge, there're another two of us who are really strong. They went with Naruto-kun to the training field. You can join them!

- Hold it Fye-san, Lee-kun! – Sakura jerked Lee's neck before the boy could dash past them – I don't know what Syaoran-kun and Kurogane-san can do, but Naruto alone is nearly the limit the training field can handle recently. We don't really need to add Lee-kun to it. Maybe some other time.

- Sakura's right, Lee. Besides, we have our own training session this afternoon, remember? – Tenten walked up to yank him along – You don't want to disappoint Gai-sensei, do you?

- We'll excuse ourselves then – Neji bowed again, but before leaving, he turned back to Sakura – I'm interested in this Syaoran and Kurogane you're talking about, just as Lee does. A different style of fighter may be a nice change once in a while. Perhaps we'll ask them for a spar tomorrow.

- Are they ninjas too? – Sakura-hime asked when the team left – They seem energetic, especially Rock Lee.

- Yeah! Most of the guys I know are like that. They always want to push themselves to the limit. That's why I have to be around them, in case they need a patch up. They overdo it all the time. I'm a medic-nin for that reason only.

- I'm sure your skills are useful to them – Sakura-hime signed – If only I can do the same for Syaoran-kun and my friends…

- You already did, Sakura-chan. Your smile and your resolution are more than enough for us – Fye patted the princess on her head – We know you already did your best to lift our spirit, and we are grateful for that. Besides, you did join us on the battlefield.

- I heard Syaoran-kun's story last night – Sakura said – I know you want to find your "Syaoran" back since he's very precious to you. Not many princesses can say that or do something for the one they cherish.

- And you have us too – Mokona jumped down to her shoulder – We don't want Sakura-chan to be sad, so we do what we can for your smile. So, smile for us, ok?

Darkness still lingered in the princess's eyes, but she finally smiled, a true smile after a long time of grief…

- Hey! I have an idea! – Sakura clapped her hands - Since you want to help your friend, how about I teach you some first-aid techniques? You're not fighter material, but that doesn't mean you can't have your own battlefield. I can get you some herb to make some medicine too.

- That would be wonderful! – Sakura-hime's eyes lit up – I can tend to them much easier that way.

- Then you go with her, Sakura-chan, I'll bring the food back to the mansion to prepare lunch – Fye gently took the bags from the girls's hands – I bet they'll be hungry after the spar.

Mokona hopped back on his head, and they watched the two Sakura disappeared in the crowd. Her smile warm their hearts just like the sun above…

:::

In a wooden cottage deep inside a forest, a group of four people were sitting in circle. Windows were closed shut so the only source of light came from the candle in the middle of the room. Nobody said anything, but the tension in the air was vivid enough to be seen. All attention drew to the only girl of the group, who seemed to be lost in thought as she concentrated. Suddenly, she squeaked:

- Sasuke-kun! I just detected a huge amount of power. It's not chakra, but it's really powerful even I can sense it from far away – She said eagerly, as if waiting for a compliment.

- From yesterday the animal around the area also acted anxiously – The guy sitting next to her said - They sensed something dangerous that drove them away from their nests toward our direction, which means whatever scared them is in the opposite side.

The one called Sasuke still remained silent, but his body started to rigid. The girl turned to the other guy:

- Juugo, the direction of that power coincides with what the animal are running away from, and from our last source of information, the Akatsuki headquarter is also that way. My worst guess is that they already got their hands on that power.

Silence befell upon the room. Everyone looked at Sasuke expectantly. He slowly glanced to the girl:

- Karin. Do you think you can figure out what kind of power that is? We can go closer for you to detect it clearer. I want to know what exactly is you're sensing.

- I can feel it even from here. It's changing, but also getting a little fainter. I think the Akatsuki is modifying the power and trying to conceal it. If they success I won't be able to track it anymore.

- Then we need to act fast – the last guy stood up, dragging a huge object to his shoulder – What do you say Sasuke?

Closing his eyes for a moment, then Sasuke also got to his feet:

- The Akatsuki's objective is the Bijuu. With that power, no doubt they're gonna use it to capture the strongest one first. Suigetsu, you come with me. We'll set up near Konoha to get some information. Karin and Juugo will go find out what the Akatsuki is up to. If you got wind of anything, send me a message then join up with me as soon as possible.

- O~oh, and here I thought you never want to see your wretched village again. So, we're gonna party or what?

Without warning, Karin threw a kunai at his head. The weapon flew right through as it turned into water.

- Stupid! Both Akatsuki and Konoha are hot on our tail. You think we can just waltz right in?

- Stop it you two! – Sasuke frowned – Suigetsu, we will have our "party", only after I know what Itachi is up to.

Suigetsu just rolled his eyes before following Sasuke, while Juugo and Karin jumped out of the window in the opposite direction…


	10. Lunch and Love

Naruto and the other two continued their spar until the sun was high above them. Since the ninja could clone himself, Syaoran and Kurogane had a hard time overpower him. But they never uttered a word of complain. On the contrary, the longer they fought, the better they can predict Naruto's movement, even if he charged at full speed. At noon, Kurogane succeeded in capturing the real Naruto among his clone and nailed him before he could pull his Rasengan again. Syaoran walked up to them, examine himself and his friends:

- I think we should go back now. Fye-san and Sakura-hime probably return from their shopping. We should help them prepare lunch.

- Now that you mention it, I'm starving! – Naruto rubbed a hand to ease his rumbling stomach.

- I hope that blondie can still make normal food – Kurogane patted the dirt off of him – After he transformed, who knows how his tongue change.

The three trotted back to the village. Naruto intently pulled Syaoran behind so he could avoid Kurogane's listening:

- Hey Syaoran! That magic of yours is really cool! And it goes so well with my jutsu too. Do you think we can work out some kind of technique from that?

- I wouldn't hesitate to try that with you again Naruto-kun. We just need to distribute chakra and magic evenly. And since your chakra is of wind nature, my wind elemental spell can be compatible with it.

- Awesome! We'll try that tomorrow morning! Maybe after that I can even help you guys find Sakura-hime's feather!

- That would be most generous of you! We received plenty of help before, but you're the first to show such enthusiasm.

- Well, I'm just being me! – Naruto's grin almost split his face in two.

Kurogane heard all of that, and he couldn't hide his satisfactory smile…

:::

Hinata examined her feet for the twentieth time in front of the Uchiha's gate, a bag of lunch boxes clutched tightly in her hands. Kiba frown impatiently:

- Come on Hinata! We've been standing here for an hour already. Just knock that damn door and go give _him_ the bento.

- I-I know K-Kiba-kun. J-just give me a minute so I-I can… p-p-prepare myself – She stuttered pathetically.

Kiba grimaced. _This is going nowhere. Why did I agree to follow her anyway? She made those lunch boxes for that guy and his friends, not me. Why do I…_

His thought got cut off by a hand on his shoulder.

- I-if you don't want to be here, t-then you don't have to – Hinata smiled weakly - I know you want to lend me your courage, but…

- Nah! It's nothing – He lied through his teeth, amazed at how convincing he sounded – I know having a crush on Naruto gave you a lot of strength, but it also messed you up real badly. If you can't confess to him then you're just torturing yourself, and affect our teamwork as well, so here! Let me give you a boost!

He pounded on the gate real hard:

- Hello! Anyone home? – Kiba shouted, and Hinata's face turned bright red.

- None right now, but I'm back! – Said a voice behind them – I assume that you are Naruto and Sakura's friends.

- Oh! It's you! – Both of them turned to face Fye – You're the guy that passed out yesterday. Yeah, we're Naruto's friends. We thought you guys just came here and haven't got anything to eat yet, so Hinata here made you some lunch boxes. I'm Kiba.

- Nice to meet you, I'm Fye, and this is Mokona – He patted the little creature – This is the second time of the day we got treated like this. People in Konoha sure are friendly.

- T-thank you! – Hinata slightly blushed.

- Well come on in. Sakura-san brought us some food for the time we stayed here, but I guess I'll just save them for dinner then.

The three entered and set everything in the kitchen, while Fye hummed to himself as he prepared some deserts, Hinata and Kiba settled with some tea in the living room. Akamaru lied lazily behind his owner. The girl kept fidgeting in her seat; her eyes darted nervously between the door and her cup. Kiba looked at her for a while, couldn't help but smiled inside.

_She really is hopeless. Is this really the girl I once fell over? Love sure can mess up anyone's head… _ Clearing his throat, he said:

- Why don't you use your eyes to check if he's coming back or not? He's at the training field, not very far from here you know.

- I-I-I don't want to. I-I c-can't…

- If you keep that up, you'll never get the chance to tell him how you feel – Kiba leaned forward on the table – Get a hold of yourself! Remember when I confessed to you 2 years ago?

Hinata startled as she looked up to her friend.

- You just said "I'm sorry" and turned away but boy did that hurt! – He looked up to the ceiling recalling his memory - You were so sure that you'd confess to him the moment he came back and refused me. That hit real hard. Where is that girl now?

- I'm s-sorry. B-but it's not the same…

- I know! I just want to say that you knew you'd hurt me, yet you did. You were very strong that time, and why is that? 'Cause you believed in your feeling for him. That's why you had no choice but to deny me, instead of lying and made me happy – He grinned – By the way, don't worry about me. I got over it a long time ago.

Reaching across the table, he gently held her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Even Akamaru sat up and smiled his doggy smile at her.

A chuckle drew their attention to the shoji. Fye stood there with a whisk in his hand, the other held a large bowl filled with cream:

- Sorry! I didn't mean to eavesdrop. Your voice was rather loud and I have quite good ears, so… - settled the bowl on the table, he looked at Hinata – Anyway, you never know what might happen tomorrow, so I suggest you tell your crush as soon as possible. That is, if you're ready. Our princess friend need to tell something like you to her love, that's why she tried so hard she hurt herself. I hope a tough ninja like you can do better.

- Thank you, Fye-san – Hinata murmured, flushing – I'll… I'll do my best!

- Now, I'm preparing some delicious deserts called "cake", would anyone of you want to help me while waiting for our friends to come back? – Fye stood up and winked at her.

Hinata immediately got up and follow him to the kitchen, leaving Kiba to finish his tea with a happy smirk…

:::

- Wow! Hinata, you really made all this? – Naruto and Sakura couldn't hold their impression of the feast before them.

- Y-y-yes! I h-hope you l-like it! – She blushed, but a little less than before.

The lunch she made for them had a diversity of dishes, from onigiri, tamagoyaki to sushi, something that Fye could never get use to, but all of them were stunned to discover in Naruto's lunch box had nothing of the sort, but a bowl of pork ramen covered with delicious topping. The said ninja's eyes glittered with gratitude as he looked at Hinata:

- Thank you so much Hinata! This will be the best ramen I've ever had! I knew you'd be a great wife some day!

He sunk his chopsticks in and ate a mouthful, completely oblivious to some envy set of eyes around him and the almost-fainted-from-happy Hinata. Fye glanced at her and their eyes met. Hinata couldn't look any happier, and she had to steel herself so she won't faint in front of him anymore. Fye turned to Kurogane:

- So how was the morning spar Kuro-puu? From the look on your face I guess you had some real fun, right?

- Hmpf! – Kurogane snorted and dipped another sushi to the sauce – We had fun alright. Too bad you couldn't join us – He smirked sarcastically.

- We sparred with each other – Syaoran answered – It's quite thrilling. Naruto-kun and I tried to combine our power and the result was unbelievable. We still need to work on perfecting it, though.

- Magic and chakra, huh? – Fye rubbed his chin – Interesting! I think this might work out rather well. Mind if I tag along tomorrow? I'd like to see what you guys came up with.

- I think it's a good idea – Sakura nudged Naruto's elbow to draw his attention – Neji and his team want to join you guys for the next spar. What do you think?

- Why not? – Naruto gulped down the soup - It's been a long time since I last fought him, and I always want to beat Gejimayu (Rock Lee). You guys should try fighting them, they're really strong!

- Then it's decided – Fye clapped – We'll all go to the training field tomorrow. I'll make lunch so we have something to munch when you guys vent your energy, ok?

Everyone nodded enthusiastically and finish their lunch…

:::

Naruto and the other ninjas left the Uchiha mansion soon after, seeing that there's no reason to survey their guests anymore. The dimensions travelers had some tranquility watching the sunset on the porch lead to the garden. Light shone through trees and flowers, casting a multicolor, dull light to the grass in front of them. Sakura-hime's eyes traced a couple of butterflies danced in the air; her face had an expression of content. Mokona jumped from Kurogane's head to her lap, carrying a small glass of sake in her tiny arms:

- It's nice to drink and relax like this. Sakura-chan, have some?

- Thank you Mokona-chan, but not now, I just want to rest like this.

- Okay, Mokona drinks all then!

Suddenly, the little creature stopped in its track, her ears fluffing and the line that made her eyes opened ever so lightly:

- Feather…


	11. Feather is corrupted?

The feather floated elegantly in the dark room, casting its warming light over the shadows. Darkness crept around trying to devour it to no avail. The silhouette of a man spread on the opposite wall. As he formed a series of hands seals, the feather got warped up by smoke emitting from the scroll beneath it. Twisted and wiggled like a snake, the smoke engulfed the light surrounding its source. But suddenly, the light broke free, dissipating the smoke in the process…

- Another failure? – A voice sounded behind him.

- I changed the methods that usually applied for containing chakra – The man said without turning back - but apparently it's not enough. What are you doing here, Itachi?

- Observing the experiment. I have a strange feeling that the feather is drawn out to me…

The other man said nothing as he carefully listened to Itachi's words. He gently stepped aside:

- Perhaps the problem is not the method, but the user. Would you care to give it a try?

- You've been trying to modify it for 24 hours straight without success, what makes you think I can fare better?

- It wouldn't kill to try, would it? – The man said calmly, masking his impatient – Besides, among the Akatsuki, you are one of the few I can trust.

Itachi still stood there, considering his options. He turned to the table beside them, scanning through the pile of scrolls and notes the other man had spread out to cover the whole surface. All of these jutsus and seals had been modified to adapt with what he assumed compatible with the strange energy from the feather, but so far none success. The feather's energy was not much different from chakra, yet it refused to cooperate with whatever they tried on it, as if it had a consciousness of its own. But somehow when he was near it, there was some kind of reaction, as if it's reaching out for him. If he could somehow connect himself to it…

Itachi picked up an opened scroll and scribbled something on it, then carry it over to replace the one that lied under the feather. It was one of the failures the other man had tried earlier, but just as he said, the problem might not lie in the method… He spoke to the man, now behind him:

- I will use this one, but with a little change. I'm not very interested in this so if it fails, I'll seal it away.

- Fair enough. If we can't use it, it's useless.

Itachi nibbled his thumb to draw blood, then formed some hands seals and placed his hands around the feather. The scribble and letters on the scroll started dancing, swirling around in mid-air and rising up to touch the glowing light, now decreasing its brightness. The letters touched the blood on his finger, then warped around the feather and his wrist to form some kind of chain. The feather's light was now just a glow, threatened to be consumed by the darkness around it. Suddenly, the glow lit up, pushed the shadows far away from it and forced Itachi to narrow his eyes, but dared not pulled his hands away. Energy vibrated through the room, shaking it violently, causing books, scrolls and much other stuff to hit the ground. The other man stepped up to pull Itachi away:

- No! Wait! I can feel it! It's working! – Itachi said, his voice a little shaking. The energy flowing between him and the feather was overwhelming.

- It's too much. Your body won't be able to handle it! – The other man protested, firmly gripping his shoulder.

As if proving him wrong, the light immediately shut off, plunging the room back to the dark. Nobody moved as their eyes adjusted. Finally, they could see the feather was trapped inside a dark sphere, its light now softened, and a mark appeared on Itachi's wrist, which made of the scribble he made on the scroll earlier. The feather fell gently to his palm.

- It is just as you say – Itachi looked at the little object in his hand, pushing his satisfaction back behind his mind – Maybe this thing is alive, and it's compatible with me.

- I wouldn't expect anything less – The man's voice was expressionless, but he also felt a little relief – This would mean you and Kisame will have to go and fetch that Naruto boy.

- That won't be necessary. With this power I can go alone – Itachi turned around toward the door, his face neutral.

- No! We always operate in team of two. Kisame will go with you. I don't want to take any risk.

Itachi stopped in his track; his eyes glanced behind him without turning back. For a moment there was silence, but then:

- Yes! I will go inform him of our departure. Excuse-me then! Pein-sama.

With that, he shut the door behind him, leaving the room of complete darkness…

:::

Karin's eyes snapped open and broke her concentration:

- Damn it! – She cursed.

- What's wrong? – Juugo asked.

- That energy vanished. For a moment I felt it burst out like never before, and then it just… disappear. One thing I'm sure though, they can control it now, even if it's not chakra. If Sasuke-kun was right, then they would head to Konoha for that Naruto.

Juugo lifted his arm up and an eagle landed on it. He rubbed his forehead against its beak, and tied a piece of paper around its talon before releasing it.

- Let's go Karin! The bird may be fast, but we need to be faster if possible.

- It would be faster if you release your seal and carry me though – She stood up patting the dirt off her skirt.

- Too risky. You don't want me to snap without Sasuke around.

- Fine! Let's hightail out of here already!

:::

- Feather – Mokona whispered, dropping the empty glass.

- Mokona! You sense the feather? – Syaoran asked.

- Feather's… calling out! Mokona never sense feather like this before. It's calling us! – The line that formed her eyes slid opened ever so slightly, revealing part of her enormous irises.

- Which direction Moko-chan? – Fye lift the dropping glass and put it back to the tray, his relaxing smile no longer there.

- It's vague, but Mokona thinks it's from the West.

All of them looked at each other. It would be best if they could leave for the search tomorrow, but with the threat of Fei Wong hovering over their heads…

- We'll depart first thing tomorrow! – Kurogane stood up and took the sake tray in his hand.

- Hm? Did my ears deceive me? – The corner of Fye's mouth twitched a little – I thought you would urge us to leave at once.

- Without any preparation? I don't think so. Each of us had our fair share in this battle, and this is a world where ninja rules, there's no telling who we'll bump into along the way.

- I agree with Kurogane-san – Syaoran said – We need to know where we're going to. I'll ask all the information needed from Tsunade-sama and then we'll go.

Fye observed his companions with his remaining eye. The iris fluttered from sea-blue to dark golden. Then he shrugged:

- It can't be helped. We'll have to miss tomorrow's spar then.

- Those kids will understand. They're the least of our concern right now! – Kurogane scoffed before leaving the room.

- I'll go make dinner then. Sakura-chan, you should go inside too. I think it would be a little chilly tonight.

Sakura-hime rose to her feet and closed the shoji lead to the garden shut tight. Light went on throughout the mansion and illuminated the people inside. From the branch of a nearby tree, Kakashi jumped off without a sound…

Kurogane gripped Fye's arm as he enter the kitchen:

- He's gone.

- I know – Fye replied with a smile…


	12. Escape

It was a full moon night.

Wind rustled through the tree carrying the leaves and dust around the corners and down the road in the village of Konoha. Light already went off throughout the houses, indicated the slumber of the people inside. But there's three figures lurking in the dark, dodging every light source and headed for one of the four gates leading out of the village. Sakura-hime was strapped securely behind Kurogane to prevent her fall every time the warrior jumped from one rooftop to another. Fye and Syaoran were right beside him, looking out for any obstacle. They reached the West Gate without running into anyone so far, but the problem started there.

- Guards! Lot of them! – Fye announced after taking a peek at the gate.

- Great! Now all we have to do is knock them out! – Kurogane started to unsheathe his sword when Syaoran stopped him.

- I don't think it's a good idea. When they come to they may alert everyone.

- By that time we'll be far out of reach! – the man in black argued – You said you don't want to waste time and don't want to get those ninjas involved, so get on with it.

Syaoran paused to consider his next move. Thinking a while back, he wondered if he should regret this decision…

…

_- Kurogane-san, Fye-san! We need to talk! – Syaoran's voice was low, barely recognizable to his companions._

_- We know! You want to go tonight, right? – Fye smiled knowingly._

_- How…? – The boy's eyes widen._

_- I know I'm not the only one noticed that spiky-haired ninja – Kurogane smirked – He's been watching us ever since we set foot in this mansion. I made up that act just to draw him away from us. Can't believe you two caught wind of it and went along with me._

_- It still took me a moment to follow though, Kuro-chin! – Fye poked his cheek – but that's still convincing._

_All three stood silently in the kitchen for a moment. Then Syaoran nodded:_

_- Fei Wong will do anything to retrieve that feather. I can't have these people involved. We'll have to depart without saying goodbye. Too much people have been hurt already – His eyes were downcast when he clenched his fists._

_Kurogane stepped up and grabbed him in a light headlock._

_- It's your call, kid! We'll follow your decision. Just know that if there's anything bad happen, I'll turn you around and kick your ass._

_Syaoran smiled and relaxed in the man's arm. He felt, for the first time, safe in the company of his should-be-a-long-time travelers. He might not have to bear this burden all alone after all…_

…

- I have a better idea. Fye-san, can you help me a little?

- With pleasure – Fye said with a smile, knowing what the young boy had in mind.

Both of them mumbled something, and the air around their mouths started to shimmer. It stretched out and reached for the guards. The air warped itself around all of them without their slightest notice, and slowly the guards stopped in their pace of patrol.

- What is that? – Kurogane asked.

- A simple hypnotize spell. They won't pay any attention to anything for a short time. This is our chance.

- And here I think you don't know how to play sneaky, kid! – Kurogane smirked proudly.

The group slipped past the guards and none of them batted an eyelid, only when they were deep in the forest that Fye and Syaoran snapped their fingered to break the spell. All of them kept running under Mokona's direction without stopping for a breather. Night and shadows seemed to stretch out as time went by. When Sakura-hime noticed the light behind her and their outline of their shadows in front, she tapped gently on Kurogane's shoulder:

- Everyone! We should stop! You've been running all night. We're far enough. You need some rest before continuing.

- No way girl! – Kurogane said flatly – Every second counted. Besides, we can't risk stopping and let them catching up to us.

- No! – She tightened her grip in protest – The feather can be miles away and you'll all be exhausted when you reach there. If we encounter enemy it would be very dangerous.

All of them slowed down a bit and drew several long breaths. The princess released her strap free despite her carrier's protest. Standing on the ground, she held Kurogane's hand gently:

- Please! Just a moment so you can rest. You've been carrying me all night, you must be exhausted. I can stand watch for you. I promise if there's anything happen I'll call you right away.

- Alright! – The warrior let out a sigh in defeat – But we need to get out of the road and stay hidden. We don't want them to find us.

- We already have! – said a voice from above them.

The whole team jerked where they stood and looked up at the same time.

Standing on a tree branch, Kakashi leaned against it leisurely looking down at them. Right beside him were Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru. The blond ninja looked outright angry, while Sakura seemed disappointed.

- Oops! Busted! – Mokona covered her mouth.

- You seem to forget that you're guests at a village full of ninja – Kakashi calmly said - We can conceal our presence and follow any civilian without them knowing. It's true that you're formidable warriors, but you're still not ninja.

Kurogane's jaws clenched. How could he overlook such simple detail? And here he thought they were stealthy enough to escape according to his experience as former ninja. He glanced up at Kakashi:

- How long have you been following us?

- Since you set foot out of the Uchiha estate. Me observing you from far away was only a decoy. Hinata here was the real one keeping an eye on you last night. The special eyes jutsu runs in her family can keep track of almost anyone in the village vicinity, and Kiba's nose can follow your scent better than any nin-dog.

- I-I-I'm really sorry! – Hinata bowed apologetically – I didn't w-w-want to do that, b-but Kakashi-sensei h-heard your conversation and worried that y-you might do something reckless.

- The act you pulled almost had me fooled – The silver-haired ninja jumped down from the tree, his eye was steel cold – But after a moment of consideration, I called for Hinata. Maybe it's just a hunch, but I have the feeling you were acting a little bit out of yourself normally, and that's what gave you away.

- A true ninja must be able to see underneath the underneath – Kurogane breathed out. The very basic lesson of a ninja totally slipped his mind at that spur-of-the-moment act.

The other ninjas dropped from the tree and approach them slowly except one. Naruto looked like he was about to explode when he jumped forward and yanked Syaoran's shirt:

- Why would you do that? Are you stupid? Do you think we're that weak we can't even help you find that feather? – His face was inch apart from the other boy's, his voice's dangerously low – Do I have to remind you that I singlehandedly made you and Kurogane exhausted?

- It was just a friendly spar! – Syaoran jerked away, his eyes sparked flame – It was nothing compare to what we've done to protect ourselves from my uncle's minions. We can't have you suffered because of us.

- That's what friends are for, dumbass! – Naruto yelled – I know we just met less than three days, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends. And friends help each other, believe it!

- Okay! I think that's enough bickering! – Fye intervened cheerfully, stepping between Syaoran and Naruto – We don't have much time to spare and as anyone can see we're all tired, even you guys. So why don't we just rest for a while before continuing? And you two can go back to fight to your heart's content after we have the feather in our hands, ok?

Everyone's attention was on him with the same incredulous look, as if the half-vampire magician has lost his mind. But Kakashi's face stretched out to a smile under his mask when he tilted his head:

- Are you assuming that we're going to help you? What makes you think that we won't turn you in right now to Hokage-sama?

- Well – Sakura-hime interrupted, glancing at the other Sakura – If you want to stop us, you could have done that while we're still in the village, not after chasing us so far out here.

For a moment nobody said anything. Look was thrown back and forth between them, and then…

- Man! This tough-act sucks more than I imagined – Kiba scratched his head and smile sheepishly.

- Ha ha ha! That was a good one, kids! I almost went and knock you out! – Kurogane burst out laughing as he pulled Naruto in for a noogie. The corner of his mouth twitched a little, but his eyes still fixed on Syaoran's:

- I still want to punch you for leaving like that. Guess I'll have to save it for later.

- I take it that you won't drag us back? - Syaoran slowly raised an eyebrow.

- Far from it, pal! We're going with you – Naruto punched his arm halfheartedly – Whatever that Fei Wong bastard has for us, bring it on. We've had worse.

- Now that we had the act out of the way, how about some rest? – Fye clapped his hands happily.

For once, they all agreed on the same things.


	13. Storm is coming

- Itachi…

- …

- Itachi! What's wrong? – Kisame called again, his voice slightly concern.

- Hm? Oh! It's nothing…

- Spacing out like that isn't 'nothing', especially when it's you.

- I'm fine Kisame. It's just…

- What?

- Ever since I'm connected with the feather, there're… images… fragments… Sometimes they just flash by my eyes.

- Genjutsu?

- No, more like… memory. The more I feel its power, the more memory goes by. It's getting frequent.

- Maybe using that thing isn't such a good idea. We've been walking for a day and you barely talked, even less than usual. Are you sure you can handle this?

- …

- Ugh, whatever…

The connection between Itachi and the feather benefited him with tremendous power. His amount of chakra was multiplied by a factor of ten. But the side effect was visible: memories not of his own started flowing into him, getting clearer by the moment. Right now he could even see them dancing in front of his eyes like a transparent veil...

_I'm floating, but I can't feel any force lifting me…_

… _Someone's calling out for me from below…_

… _Sakura-hime?… Why can I know he's calling for me, but can't hear his voice?_

… _Wings… Feathers…_

… _Are those…_

… _mine?_

The two of them continued their walk for a moment when Itachi suddenly jerked forward and broke to a sprint.

- Whoa! Itachi! Wait up! What's happened? – Kisame jerked as he followed suit.

- I don't know. The feather's dragging me. I have an urge to move forward faster – Itachi frowned.

- Careful! You should deal with that before we run into that brat. I don't want you to snap at that time.

- For now let just follow the feather. I'm working on subduing it. We can't afford to turn back empty-handed so I'll have to do as we go.

- How about I just knock you out until you get the hang of it?

- Too risky, we don't know how that'll affect me and the feather. Besides, I'm too strong now, hit me with everything you've got is probably just a waste.

- Ugh, how troublesome! – Kisame sighed - Alright, I'll trust you on this one then. Just don't push yourself too hard and mess things up.

_You have no idea how much I'm pushing myself, Kisame. You have no idea…_

:::

Sasuke's eyes snapped open as Karin and Juugo rushed inside their hideout, still catching their breath:

- Did you get our message? – Karin asked as soon as she caught sight of him.

- I got it! Anything else before you leave?

- Well… - Karin closed her eyes and concentrated - I detected two strong chakra sources heading this way after us, still far away though. There're also another four from Konoha, and… three different energy disturbances. They come with the four chakra sources.

- So Konoha also gained allies – Sasuke speculated – It'll do us some good if Akatsuki and Konoha just kill each other off a little.

- But Sasuke-kun, one of those sources… I'm pretty sure one of the Akatsuki is Kisame, and one of those four is Naruto. Their chakras are impossible to miss.

Sasuke froze at that. If the information they're having was correct, then Kisame's partner would be none other than…

- Hebi! Prepare for battle! – Sasuke jumped to his feet, clenching his fists to maintain composure – Karin! Expanding your detection to its maximum, I don't want any surprise. Suigetsu, Juugo! Get rid of anything around Itachi. I'll deal with him myself.

- That's a tall order, Sasuke – Suigetsu winced – But I'll try to cause confusion and we'll improvise after that.

- Let's move!

:::

- How's the feather, Mokona? – Syaoran asked. They were outside the tents set up by the ninjas.

- It's still calling for us, but it's getting weaker – Mokona frowned – Someone's messing with it. They're getting closer to us but still far away.

- It can't be helped, we'll have to move faster to compensate for the time we rested – Kakashi decided – We might run into them by tomorrow if we keep this pace.

- We can't go any faster than we already have – Fye reminded him – I have my new power and still can barely keep up with you, and Kuro-chin have to carry Sakura-chan.

- Akamaru can take care of that. Beside, Hinata and Kiba are picking up enemies' presence – Kakashi narrowed his eye – They can be either Fei Wong's soldiers or nukenin from our world.

- No point guessing now – Syaoran stood up – Whoever stand in our way won't be able to stop us. That's the promise I made with Sakura-hime when I joined this team.

- Then it's settled – Naruto punched one fist to the other's palm – Tomorrow will be a big day for all of us.

_The will of Fire never cease to burn inside that boy, you must be proud of him, sensei._ Kakashi thought and smiled to himself…

:::

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself in a dungeon, _the_ dungeon that held the Kyuubi captive. He marched forward, ignoring the splash of water under his feet to reach the cage of the demon.

_**Now you see for yourself how truthful they are, those so-called friends of yours**_**.** – Kyuubi remarked sarcastically.

_They don't want to see me get hurt, that's all. They don't know what I'm capable of_. – Naruto shot back.

_**Then leave them be. Why must you bother yourself with those around you? I can easily let you in control of my power to rule them all and make them cowered with fear.**_

_That's not the point, fox! I want their acknowledgement, their respect, not their fear._

_**You always want to bundle up with those weaklings. I can't understand.**_

_You're too strong already. You can take care of yourself. Well, not that much since you're trapped inside me, but at least you can fight back your enemy. We human sometimes are not strong enough._

_**I know that. That's why you human have to 'stick together' to fight against something stronger than you… something like me…**_ - Kyuubi sounded bitter.

_They only fear what's different from them_ – Another voice sounded behind Naruto.

Kyuubi shot up and banged his claws against the bars, baring his teeth to the intruder. Syaoran held up his hands defensively:

_I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invade your mind. I was sleeping, dreaming, then suddenly I found myself here and overheard your conversation. I think I was attracted by your chakra._

_It's okay Syaoran_ – Naruto said – _You pulled the world right out of my mouth. I was just about to say that to this dumb demon here._

_**This is supposed to be our inner minds, no one can enter except for the Uchihas. **_– Kyuubi hissed.

_It doesn't matter, he's here anyway. Kyuubi, in the past people feared me, rejected me because I'm carrying you. But look at them now. None of them act that way and I got tons of friends, even from different dimension_ – Naruto jerked a thumb toward Syaoran – _I don't mind add another one to the list._

_**Hmpf, and who might that be?**_ – Kyuubi snorted.

_You!_ – Naruto grinned.

_**Wipe that stupid grin off your face, brat. If you think I would consider being friend with you…**_

_You'll have plenty of time to think trapping inside me. I'm sorry I never take this up to you seriously before. But after meeting Syaoran here, I was thinking…_

_**Oh, so that's where all those noises came from!**__ – Kyuubi retorted._

_Very funny! I was thinking: if I can make friend of outside world, then what about the inside? You've been with me for fifteen years, I think you know me well enough to know what I'm trying to say is serious._

Kyuubi was silent. He saw what the boy saw, heard what he heard, but knew not how he felt. His struggle confused him sometimes, and his achievement did surprise him. The big dream of becoming Hokage seemed far-fetch to him when he first heard the boy uttered it, but now after everything Naruto had done, it was something worth the effort. And there's the friend issue. There were other Bijuus just like him, but they were either free to go on a rampage, letting their savage side got the best of them, or sealed away just like him. As far as he knew, the only free Bijuu was the Sanbi, and he was also captured recently. If there was indeed a force formidable enough to cage multiple Bijuus, then he might also be in imminent danger. Unfortunately, he could do little to prevent the same scenario to happen to him. He was already caged! If moving to another cage was no better than this one, then he would rather stay in this boy's body.

_**I'll consider your proposal, boy**_ – Kyuubi slowly spoke.

_That's a good start for both of you, Naruto-kun_ – Syaoran smiled.

_**I said I'll consider, I didn't say yes!**_

_That's good enough for me_ – Naruto shrugged – _Usually you call me brat and other nickname. This is the first time you call me 'boy'._

_**Alright, alright! Now get lost. I want to get some sleep…**_


	14. Battle Royal

**A/N:** I am so sorry! " The last 2 weeks had been hell for me. I was drown with work and also I had an exam just 3 days ago. I'm so happy I'm still alive.

So, with no further ado, here's chapter 14, where all hell breaks loose!

* * *

><p>The sun was high above their heads when Mokona announced their position from the feather, again. She's been receiving confused signal from it and leading them around all morning. Both Naruto and Kurogane were getting irritated. But Kiba and Hinata finally picked up something worth their attention:<p>

- I detect some chakra sources – Hinata said – Two are moving toward us from up ahead.

- That's where Mokona senses the feather! – The creature interrupted.

- And I smell four people around us. One of them smell really familiar – Kiba frowned – I'm not sure, but I think it's Sasuke.

Team 7 lit up at the name. Naruto clenched his jaws and his whole body shook from excitement. Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder to calm him, then turned to their guests:

- It's our old team member. If he's involved, then probably our opponent will be of trouble for you.

- Naruto told us about Sasuke and his brother – Syaoran said – we'll try to stay out of your affair, but we can't promise anything if it's involve the princess's feather.

- You mean this one?

All head turned to the direction of that voice. There, in the middle of the road, stood Itachi and Kisame, right in front of them. Both looked as calm as they're taking a walk.

- Mekyo! – Mokona cried triumphantly, waving frantically at the object in Itachi's hand.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. These strangers beside those Konoha ninjas emitted the same kind of energy as the feather. It would be prudent to use it against them, but to capture Naruto was something only he was now capable of, and he couldn't waste the energy on some irrelevant people. Genjutsu would work, but with the Kyuubi inside to disrupt him, the success rate was low. Now that he possessed immense power from the feather, the chance was raised, so the solution for them was clear:

- Just take care of that Jinchuuriki, I'll handle these small fries – Kisame swung his sword forward and took a stance.

- That feather belongs to us – Syaoran stepped up and pulled out his sword – We'll take it back no matter what.

- I second that – Naruto growled – Besides, if I can get rid of you, then Sasuke can come home and live in peace.

- I don't think you'll be able to do that, Naruto-kun. I'll have you come with me, whether you like it or not.

- You're not going anywhere, Itachi!

All the ninjas gasped that the owner of the voice. Sasuke jumped down from a tree, his eyes blazed with Sharingan.

- No one kill him but me – He told those two behind him with a low voice.

- I'm afraid I don't have time for you today, _otouto_ – Itachi spoke with a flat voice – I have business with your… _friend_ Naruto. Maybe next time…

- There won't be any 'next time', Itachi! – Sasuke pressed every single syllabus of his brother's name as he pulled out his katana.

At that moment, several things happened at once they barely had time to react. Syaoran lunged forward, Naruto followed suit, at Itachi. Juugo and Suigetsu plunged at them but got intercepted by Kurogane. Kakashi and Kiba jumped up to rain shuriken on the Akatsuki, but Kisame just swatted them away like flies. Just as the rest was about to join the fray, Mokona shouted:

- Look out! Fei Wong's robots incoming!

Red cuts slid the sky open for an army of killing machines to drop down on them. A bunch fell right on top of Sasuke, who also charged at Itachi. Suigetsu had to leave his black opponent to Juugo so he could lure them off of his leader. Let out a cry of frustration, the young Uchiha slashed aimlessly at the other two so he could have Itachi for himself. Itachi on the other hand did nothing but avoiding blows and straying off from the chaos. His brother and the other boy can be quite troublesome to deal with, but he had to finish them before he could get to his target. The feather had submitted to his control in the morning, now started to act up again, disrupting the genjutsu he was about to cast on them. He had no choice but to retreat to another area, away from the new enemies that appeared from thin air.

Naruto called up the clones. They covered the field at the side of the road with orange before tightening on both Itachi and Sasuke. They're no match for real people, but the number overwhelmed the two Uchihas as they struggled to clean them up. As smoke puffed up more and more, Itachi found himself in defense position, with the real Naruto and Syaoran on his front and back. He jumped:

- Katon: Gokakyu no justu!

Giant fireball hurled downward, Naruto and the clones dashed in every direction to avoid it, but Syaoran still stood there, and calmly raised his sword. He shouted:

- Kashin Shourai!

A column of fire shot up from where he stood and collided violently with the fire ball. Magic fire seemed to be on par with chakra one, as they dissipated each other out. At that moment, Sasuke charged at Syaoran with the katana coated with lighting chakra. Naruto cried:

- Watch out! His lightning katana can cut through anything!

The words died in his throat as they clashed. But Syaoran's sword didn't even have a scratch. Twirled the sword around, he knocked the katana away before giving Sasuke a fast kick in the stomach. Sasuke disappeared to be replaced by a log. Syaoran spun to Naruto, only to aim the sword at him:

- Fuuka Shourai! – He shouted.

Wind burst up from the ground, engulfed Naruto in a semi-sphere, not a moment too soon as Itachi's strike came down on him from behind. His fist burned with flame as he struck the wind shield, tore it to pieces and knocked the orange ninja toward Syaoran.

- Be careful! The feather he possesses now gives him tremendous power – Syaoran caught Naruto in his arms – He's stronger than you can ever imagi…

POOF!

Suddenly Syaoran found himself grabbing air as the clone vanished back to smoke. Right when Itachi was about to touch the ground, another Naruto erupted from right under him, the chakra ball spun in his hand. With all his might, the boy thrust his Rasengan upward, right in Itachi's chest. Then…

- Naruto-kun! – Syaoran yelled, as Naruto fell lifelessly on the ground, Rasengan died in his hand.

The young magician dashed toward him without a moment hesitated, sword rammed up against the body stood above him. Itachi calmly blocked it with a kunai and jumped to the side, just in time to avoid Sasuke appearing from out of nowhere flanking him. Itachi had to temporally drive Sasuke away from Naruto, not worried too much since the genjutsu finally hit the blond boy. Syaoran shook Naruto violently:

- Naruto-kun! What happened? Wake up Naruto-kun! – He called again and again to no avail.

The body in Syaoran's arm still felt warm and the pulse still beating, but there's no muscle contraction, no sign that Naruto's consciousness was still there, even when his eyes were wide open. Threw a glance over to make sure that the Uchihas were busy to pay him any attention, Syaoran floated a hand over Naruto's head and focus. The sewer led to Kyuubi's cage flashed open and he found the fox moving around inside, his whole body rumbled with agitation.

_Kyuubi, what happened? Where's Naruto-kun?_

_**That idiot got himself caught in the genjutsu of that Itachi**_ – Kyuubi growled – _**I can't believe he still fell for that trick, after so many times Kakashi told him to be careful.**_

_We have to do something! I can't snap him out of this!_

_**There're a lot of ways to break a genjutsu, but the best one is to disrupt the chakra flow in his body. Lucky for him Itachi didn't use Tsukuyomi or he'll be trap until that bastard decides to release it.**_

_Then help him! You're inside his body! Do something!_

_**Don't tell me what to do, human!**_ – Kyuubi banged his claws against the bars -_** I'm not your pet! If you want to help him, do it yourself! Now get out!**_

With that, Syaoran's eyes snapped open. He let out a breath of frustration, feeling utterly useless. A friend of his got hurt in the battle for the feather, and all he could do was watch as the body in his arms went limp. But wait! Kyuubi only said that the chakra flow needed to be interrupted; he didn't say anything about what should be used for that purpose. Inhaled deeply, Syaoran placed a hand on Naruto's chest, shoving a wave of his magic energy directly into him, and prayed for it to work…

* * *

><p>Katon - Gokakyu no jutsu: Fire element: Giant fireball technique<p>

Kashin Shourai: Fire Emperor, come!

Fuuka Shourai: Wind Emperor, come!

Tsukuyomi: Moon reader

Rasengan: Spiraling Sphere

Jinshuuriki: Host of the Tails beast.


	15. Chaos

**A/N:** I have made a terrible mistake, and therefore I apologize all TRC fans. In chapter 3, the agent working for Fei Wong was Kyle Londart, and I just had the audacity to change his name into Fuuka. I'm so sorry! "

Ok, **Ixilon** had helped me with a really good website about writing, and I tried to get as much details as possible to their battles. So, tell me what you think! ^^

* * *

><p>Back at the road, the situation wasn't any better. As soon as Sasuke chased after Itachi and the others, Suigetsu struggled to get rid of these killing machines aiming for his life. Worse yet, since Kisame was left with no one to play with, he decided to reclaim the sword Zabuza once used. The moment the last robot fell, Suigetsu found himself smacked against a tree, Kubikiri clashed with Samehada.<p>

- Don't you think you're a little too young to play with my kouhai's sword? – Kisame smirked.

- Don't you think it's time to step down for the next generation? – Suigetsu shot back, tried to sound as tough as possible.

The shark man replied by pushing more force to his blade. The tree behind Suigetsu started to crack, then finally gave in, breaking in half. Water splashed everywhere dragging along a giant sword as its owner escaped the grip of Samehada.

- Alright old man! – Suigetsu growled – you want to play? You got it!

With it, the two famous swords of the Mist came clashing with each other again. They had all the space and time for themselves, for the rest of the fighters were more or less occupied to interrupt. Juugo already transformed to the point that his face was barely recognizable, much to Kurogane's startle when he had to step back, gaining some safe distance from the crazy man. He snorted:

- That's all you've got? I should have finish you and go with the kid already.

- I've had enough of this shit! – Juugo boomed – I'M GONNA KILL YA! ASSHOLE!

What's left of his humanity had disappeared, devoured by rage and thirst for blood. But Kurogane didn't even flinch. He took the sword to his side, concentrated. As Juugo ran toward him for the kill, he shouted:

- Chiryujin Enbu!

The moment Juugo came into contact with the tip of Souhi, a blast erupted around them, engulfed a large area, which was very close to where Sakura-hime and Fye were. Fye called:

- Careful with your fight, Kurogane. We're right behind you, you know?

- Then get the princess somewhere else! – The black warrior grunted – I'm kinda busy here.

Juugo has been blasted for a considerable distant, but he's still on his feet, and his eyes still flickered with insanity. Kurogane shot after his monstrous form to prevent the lunatic from attacking, leaving the vampire magician and the princess to the ninjas. But as they looked around, their friends also had their own battle. Even Kakashi had to jump back a few time to avoid having his neck sliced. Kiba and Akamaru were surrounded, lashing claws and fangs at whatever dared to approach. The two remaining kunoichis already retreated out of harm's way, for there were cuts all over Sakura's body and a nasty gash on Hinata's stomach. The two were doing their fastest to heal themselves before rejoining the fight.

- Something's not right – Fye frowned - These robots are way stronger than the last time we fought them!

- Be careful Fye-san! – The princess shot over his shoulder to a robot that snuck up to his blind side. The head sizzled through a hole and the robot came down crashing.

- We had to do some modification – A man suddenly walked through the red portal – After all, you gave us quite a beating, not to mention your ninja friends' ridiculous strength. We can't go unprepared.

- Kyle? – The princess and the magician couldn't believe their eyes.

- Don't be that surprised – The man in glasses giggled – I'm just here to join the party.

Wasted no more breath, Fye dashed at him. The claws in his hands became a blur as he pierced furiously at the fake doctor, but he blocked every strike, no matter how fast the attacks were.

- What? Do you think I spared myself the upgrade to deal with the likes of you? – He smirked at the shocked Fye.

He gave Fye a good kick and sent him flying back to the princess. The man drew a fencing sword out of thin air and walked leisurely toward them

- It's a pity I can't attend the main event, but then again, the spotlight has to shine upon star, not background character like me.

- What do you mean 'star'? – Fye hissed.

- Oh please! As if you don't know who I'm talking about – He feinted a painful expression, batting away the laser beam of Sakura-hime's shooting with his sword.

- … Syaoran? – Fye's eye widen as he saw a shadow disappeared from the far end of the battlefield.

- Don't even think about following him – Kyle pointed the sword to the princess's neck – I'm only here to keep you at bay, but I have no trouble cutting you off a few limbs to immobilize you.

Before he could utter another word, Fye swept under his feet and knocked him over. The sword tip grazed Sakura-hime's cheek, but she ignored the pain to aim the gun right at Kyle's face. Fei Wong's henchman had only a second to dodge before the laser drill a hole on his forehead. He rolled away to a crouch position to see claws and laser beam were inch from him. The sword blocked the beam with ease, but Fye's claws drew some red lines over his face. He jumped back again and drew out a gun from his other hand. Leaving him no time catch his breath, Fye zig-zagged side to side to approach him, while Sakura-hime shot non-stop, carefully avoid hitting her blond friend. Claws extended from one hand and magic shone on the other, Fye brought them both down on Kyle's head. They hit simultaneously with the laser shot, packed enough power to blow the slick man spinning several feet away. Fye spun to the princess:

- I can take care of Kyle here. Do you want to go after 'Syaoran-kun'? – He panted – The battle for the feather was messy enough, we don't need to add him to it.

Sakura-hime didn't answer. Instead, she raised her gun again aiming to where Kyle has landed. Smoke sizzled from his head and he wasn't moving, but she didn't want to take any chance.

- I'm sorry, Fye-san, but I'll stay here with you – She smiled before steeling her face - Like you said, if he's true to me, he'll come back… on his own.

- Then I better get rid of this man quickly and get you to him. Your voice is the only thing that can reach his 'heart' now. We all miss him… – With that, Fye wrote a line of shining spell in mid air, ready for the final blow…

:::

From her position, Karin could see and sense everything. She had to bite her lips to keep herself hidden as Sasuke vanished behind the trees, chanting that it was Sasuke they had to deal with, not some small fries to worry about. But as soon as the energy of the newcomer surged through her, she knew her idol had bit more than he could chew. Silently retreating, Karin glided through the ground at top speed, hoping to catch up to Sasuke to at least give him some warning. What stopped her on her track though, was not the sight of his battle, but two kunoichis at the ready. In a moment of haste, she had released her chakra and that white-eyed girl must have caught sight of it.

- Out of my way! I don't have time to deal with you two. – She spat.

- You're not going anywhere – Sakura cracked her fingers – Sasuke becomes like this partly because of your bad influence on him.

- How dare you…? Do you think you're better for him? You, that stupid blondy Naruto and the rest of your village had done nothing but hurting Sasuke-kun. I'm the one who took care of him, and maybe one day I can be called Karin Uchiha when he…

Sakura could never know what Sasuke was going to do, for the red-haired girl was slammed head-down to the ground with earth-shatter force. Looming over her was Hinata, to Sakura's surprised, as fume escaped from her head, and her whole body shook with anger. The Hyuuga girl snapped for just a second, but it's enough to convey her message. She front-flipped away behind Karin:

- You can say all you want about us, but I will not allow you to insult Naruto-kun – She said without looking back, her eyes flashed with Byakugan.

_Wow, and I thought I'm supposed to be angry here._ Sakura look at her friend with a shudder.

- I don't have time for you bitches – Karin slowly rose to her feet, one side of her face swollen badly – If something happens to Sasuke-kun, I'll kill all of you!

Sakura didn't give her anymore time to speak and threw a chakra punch at her face. Air sizzled around her arm, but Karin blocked it with ease, and at the same time wiped a back-kicked at a charging Hinata, landed precisely on her wrist to avoid the chakra flow on her palm. The two girls grabbed her hands and leg, locking her in place. Still had one foot on the ground, Karin gave it a hard kick and jumped, spinning horizontally in mid air, dragging along her two opponents. Caught by surprise, they had no choice but to spin along with her, otherwise risking their shoulders dislocated.

Feeling the grip on her loosen, she pulled back and landed to the side, eyeing them with furious calculation. One was a medic-nin with monstrous strength; one was the owner of the famous Byakugan and master of Juuken. Saying she was driven into a corner was an understatement, but stading guard for Orochimaru's lab had its perks. Karin was more than prepared for this. She just had to even the odd first. The chakra power emitting from Sakura was obviously lower than Hinata's, but a medic-nin always had better control of their chakra. Hinata on the other hand possessed formidable jutsus, and being a Hyuuga means precise chakra flow to disrupt other's. Both were worth getting rid of first. But the gash on her stomach was still bleeding, even though the healing took care most of it. The red-haired girl made her decision and lunged for Hinata, despite leaving her back wide open for the remaining kunoichi.

:::

- TAKE THIS ITACHI! – Naruto's fist shot up and connected soundly with Syaoran's lower jaw.

The blond ninja jumped to his feet only to sway the next second due to dizziness. He saw his friend slowly got up, still rubbing his chin. The genjutsu, whatever kind that was, only freeze the brain function of the victim temporary.

- Wha-what just happened?

- You were trapped by Itachi's genjutsu, but I broke it for you. Come on, we have to get the feather, and deal with your friend's brother too.

Naruto was more than happy to comply, but still felt angry for letting himself caught by the illusion. They had no idea that their battle was about to take turn for the worse.


	16. Battle Royal: The Fall

Itachi didn't even need to lure Sasuke away from Naruto. The moment his target fell, all attention was drawn to him. He just had to run a little, until the other two were out of sight. The katana in Sasuke's hand flashed with lightning, coming at him with deadly speed. He couldn't risk blocking it with anything, so he went for his next best choice: grabbing his brother's wrist. With a twist, the katana swung for his head, but Itachi was faster and ducked just in time, the lightning only grazed some hair. Sasuke immediately brought his knee up, at the same time launched another Chidori at his brother's head from above. Suddenly, Itachi pulled him closer, batting away the knee coming for his face with the back of the right hand holding the feather, head-butted into his stomach in the process. The blow sucked all air out of Sasuke's lung, and chidori vanished along with its shriek. Still had the grip on his little brother, Itachi ducked to his underside, rounded to his back, and twisted the arm painfully upward, forcing Sasuke to let go of his katana. The young avenger dropped to his knee, still tried to hold on to his weapon. Itachi's voice echoed above him, pinning his face to the soil:

- I do not wish to kill you… yet! – Itachi's voice was as calm as if they were at a table having tea – Drop your weapon, and I'll just put you to sleep before going to fetch Naruto.

- You're not going anywhere – Sasuke breathed heavily, hearing the bone on his shoulder moving out of its socket – we'll finish this… here and now!

THWACK!

Itachi looked down in shock to find a katana blade spiked out from his chest. Its tip shrieked with lightning. Sasuke smirked from behind him:

- I don't know how much stronger you got, but I don't care! I will kill you, one way or another!

The figure in front of Itachi dissolved into dust, leaving his hand grabbing air. The man tightened his grip on the sphere, feeling the power flowing into him.

- You have become stronger, my dear _otouto_, yet you caught me in the worst time possible.

The body impaled by the lightning katana tore itself into a swarm of crows, spreading everywhere around Sasuke. Immediately he closed his eyes and start searching for his target using his inner eye.

- It's no use Sasuke. From the moment our eyes made contact, you have been trapped in my genjutsu. The power I possess made it beyond recognition even for a fellow Sharingan user.

- Shut up! – Sasuke's face contorted with anger – Even if I have to fight you blind, I will find you, and I will kill you!

- Stop struggling! I'll make it less painful for you!

The swarm gathered above his head and dove in for the kill. Sasuke reacted just in time and escape those deadly sharp beaks by a hair's breath. Couldn't afford to open his eyes, he released the seal containing his forbidden power. The black ink started crawling from the back of his neck, burning every inch of skin it touched, but Sasuke could now feel the grip of his brother's genjutsu on him. Unfortunately, knowing it and escaping from it were two different matters. The curse seal's power was nothing compared to the vast energy the feather can provide, and Sasuke clamped his hands over his head in pain, hopelessly tried to shake the genjutsu off. In reality, Itachi was standing in front of his little brother's slumping figure, about to knock him unconscious. He was ready to fight Sasuke anytime his little brother wish, but not today, not when there's so much interference and so much different in power.

His hand was going down to chop Sasuke's neck when he was struck from the side. A few ribs cracked, but the pain could only intensify the shock he received as he flew nearly parallel to the ground to a considerable distance. Landed hardly on the back, he rolled some more before coming to a stop; all air was sucked out of his lungs. Clamping a hand over the broken ribs, Itachi turned to face his attacker.

- So, you've abandoned Naruto and come to face me alone? – He spit out some blood.

The boy stood where he was a moment ago said nothing, his fist still sparked with the remnant of the strike.

Sasuke suddenly opened his eyes as the jutsu's connection was severed, real world materialized back. He looked up to see a boy with the same face as Naruto's companion, but dress completely different. The sleeveless black shirt he's wearing had a red bat on its front, shining mockingly under the sunlight. He didn't even glance at him and slowly advanced toward Itachi.

- Give me that feather! I have to get it back… no matter what! – He said with an emotionless voice.

Furious for being ignored, Sasuke quickly retrieved his katana and launched a Chidori to the newcomer's back. Itachi wasted no time staring at his opponent, charging right in front of him and started forming seals with just one hand. The boy between them didn't even seem to notice the danger he was in, calmly raised his fingers and swung an arc around him.

- Katon: Housenka no Jutsu! – Chidori – Itachi and Sasuke shouted at the same time.

Bullets of fire burst out from Itachi's mouth, scattered then converged to the boy. At the same time Chidori was inch away from his back. But then, a magic circle shone from where he stood, covering him in a half-sphere barrier. The jutsus collided with it and ricocheted back to their caster. Itachi had to call up a clone and used it as a foot hold to dodge away, just in time the fire bullets burned it to smoke. Unlucky for Sasuke, he was too close to react and Chidori met him dead on. Turning his body just in time, the lightning jutsu slammed hard on his shoulder, spinning him backward. The barrier dissipated and the boy dashed toward Itachi, drawing out a sword from thin air. Itachi threw some shurikens at him, only to be deflected, but as he approached, Itachi jolted his arm back, and the shurikens scattering around flew back to the air, coming for his back.

They were attached with wires connected to Itachi's fingers.

Without turning, the boy swung the sword to his back, blocking the shuriken, but he couldn't draw it back in front fast enough, as a kunai emerged from his opponent's sleeve, aiming for his forehead. Thrusting his left hand upward, he called up his magic to deflect the kunai coming for him. But Itachi saw that coming and kicked it out of the way before plunging the kunai down. The boy had no choice but to stop in his track and brought his sword back in front just in time to block it.

- You're… not him! – It was a statement, not a question from Itachi.

The boy said nothing, going on with his assault. The magic trail still swayed gently in his hand suddenly burst out into flame and rushed over Itachi like a tidal wave. The man calmly let it consumed him out of view. Just as he was about to dig a whole below to sneak up behind the wall of fire, he heard a clashing sound between metal. Sasuke have caught up with the battle and now furiously delivering cuts and slashes after the boy with a familiar face. What were Juugo and Suigetsu doing? They were supposed to handle these scumbags. Fueled by rage, Sasuke didn't even bother using any jutsu on the boy, but he was surely pushing him back. They didn't realize the slowly rising form of Itachi from the earth behind them…

- Itachi… SASUKE! LOOK OUT! – Naruto shouted just as the sight of them.

- You… - Syaoran's eyes widen at his clone.

All eyes turned on them almost instantly. Sasuke gritted through his teeth:

- One after another, you're like a swarm of flies… FINE! I'LL WIPE YOU ALL OUT BEFORE DEALING WITH ITACHI!

Like a signal, Itachi sprung over Syaoran, throwing some kunais to his back, but Sasuke didn't faze. Both his katana and his hand scream the sound of a thousand lightning birds, devouring the kunais before they could even reach their target. 'Syaoran' also charged at the new arrivals, tracing his fingers along the blade of his sword and coated it with a dark purple light.

- Naruto! Stand behind me! – Syaoran put his sword in front of him, raising the wind shield.

- No! This didn't work back there against Itachi, it can't work now – Naruto argued and started forming a double Rasengan with his clones – We have to attack.

- _You_ will attack, while I'll act as a decoy. The odds are against us, if we go together, we'll fall together, and I can't have that.

- No way I'm leaving you like this!

- There's no time, they're coming!

Putting all his magic to the spell, Syaoran closed his eyes and prepared for the devastating blows to come. The attacks might be weaken a little by the barrier, but receiving only Itachi's attack was already too much for it, let alone the additional two. Itachi's Sharingan begun to spin and the black flame of Amaterasu burst out from thin air, formed into a spear and shot straight to Syaoran's heart, oddly in sync with the lightning katana and the dark magic sword. Syaoran's only hoped was that Naruto could use these precious seconds to counterattack. Suddenly, something rushed past him causing Syaoran to open his eyes…

… And everything went into slow motion…

Naruto had shot up in front of him, heaving his two Rasengan to meet up with the coming assault. The Amaterasu spear of flame, even weaken by the wind shield, still shot through and ate up the two spinning spheres, but Naruto let go of them just in time. The action left him wide open for the two other blades. They pierced through the barrier like hot knife over butter, and went right through the body of the orange ninja…

- NARUTO-KUN! – Syaoran couldn't believe what he saw.

Neither was Itachi. Swiftly advert the black flame, he threw it at his brother and the clone, but Sasuke let go of his katana and shot out a bundle of snake to take the flame in his place, with his other hand he materialized a lightning blade to slash down on the other boy. 'Syaoran' quickly pulled back his sword to block it, at the same time, shot another beam of fire magic at Itachi.

Syaoran raised his shield up again, catching a falling Naruto just in time. They should be safe for a moment when the enemies were occupied fighting among themselves. He looked down in horror as blood spilled out from the hole his clone has left. The katana was still implanted on his friend's chest.

- Naruto-kun! No! Please don't close your eyes! Talk to me! – He begged, his voice cracking.

- I… I'm sorry… - The young ninja coughed out some blood – I can't… watch my friend… get hurt for me…

- Don't say that! – Syaoran tore up his sleeves to wrap around the wound. The make-up bandage changed color to dark red too quickly – It's my fault that I'm not strong enough to protect both of us.

- Don't… worry… I'm not gonna give up… I never… give up – Naruto breathed out a weak smile – Believe it…

- I want to believe you Naruto-kun, but we have to get you out of here first. Sakura-san is a medic-nin, right? She can heal yo… No! Naruto-kun! Don't close your eyes! Naruto-kun! NARUTO-KUN!

The body in his arms went limp…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Oh yeah! I just killed my Naruto-sama! You got problem? *trollface*


	17. Friendship Combo

**A/N:** First, I want to apology for the long delay with this update. I have a new TMNT fandom, so there. But I haven't abandoned this story. I never could. Naruto and TRC will be forever be my childhood fandom. They helped contructing me into who I am today. It's just that I changed it a little from the original version, and I need time to cope with it.

Thank you so much **chocolatito00** for your review. It motivated me to complete the translation of my story. I also changed the setting just like you advised.

Enjoy this chapter to the fullest. The end is almost upon it...

* * *

><p>- Naruto-kun… - Hinata suddenly felt a chill down her spine.<p>

- You don't have time to look elsewhere!

Karin was about to drop a kick from above when Hinata's hand shot up and grabbed her ankle without even looking back. Going with the momentum, she pulled her down and jabbed right into her chest. The red haired girl cough out blood as the chakra flow around her heart got severed. One moment of excitement eluded her mind from the knowledge about the Byakugan's 360 degree vision. Karin swung up a kick from the side of Hinata's head to knock the girl off her, scrambled up the other way and clutched at her throbbing chest. Some ribs must have been cracked, but fortunately not to the point of breaking. She was about to catch her breath when Sakura pummeled down on her, fists shining with chakra. The four-eye girl had only a hair breath to dodge before having her body turned into a meat ball. Dug her fingers to the ground, Sakura heaved up a boulder from the ground and threw it at her opponent, with Hinata on it readied for a double strike. The impact from the lump of rock knocked Karin over, at the same time having all her chakra point struck by the Hyuuga girl. She landed belly down with a loud thump.

- That'll keep her immobilized for a while. – Sakura huffed.

- Yes, but we don't have a moment to lose – Hinata wiped a trail of blood on her cheek – I… I suddenly have a bad feeling. Something's happening to Naruto-kun.

- Don't worry Hinata – Sakura had a hand on her shoulder – He's strong, if anyone can survive any fight, it would be that idiot.

Hinata smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes. Sakura's words were assuring, but not enough.

- Come on! We have to get back to the other. I know you want to go after Naruto now, but the fight he's in is way above our league. We can only do what we can here.

With a curt nod, the two girls dashed back to the battle field. Suigetsu and Kisame had dragged their battle to god knows where, although explosion and water columns could be seen from the distance. The remaining member of Hebi was still struggling with the black warrior. Kurogane had inflicted some serious damage to the monstrous body, snapping a little sense back to Juugo. One of his arms got cut off nice and clean, the other was bleeding heavily. Darting his eyes around, he found none of his companion, even Sasuke. His breath's become ragged as he attempted one more attack on Kurogane, only to have him knocked back again. The former ninja didn't fare any better, with one arm dislocated and a bruised eye, but at least he still had some stamina left in him. Princess Sakura and Fye weren't so fortunate, since they had to use a big rock for cover, when guns jutted out from Kyle's arm and unloaded a string of bullets on them. Seeing that Kakashi and Kiba had held their ground against the remaining robots, Hinata and Sakura quickly made their way to Kyle.

- Time to wrap this up, robot-man. - Sakura taunted him, cracking her fingers.

Kyle pivoted his guns to them, only to have a smoke bomb blasted right to his face. The man staggered back, eyes watering. He didn't realize the strike Hinata inflict on him from behind. Kyle fell face down to the ground, not moving.

- Well, that was fast - Kakashi landed next to him, checking his pulse.

- He's originally a spy, not a warrior - Fye explained - Even with all that "upgrade", he's still only capable of sneak attack, not full confrontation.

- Come one, we don't have time to fool around - They all turned to look at Kurogane, dragging an unconcious Jugo. He threw him over Kyle's body.

- Let me fix you up quick, Kurogane-san.

- No time - Kurogane brushed Sakura's aiding hands off - We have to get to the boy now.

- To only be a burden for him if we can't at least defend ourselves - Fye held firmly on the man's arm, pulling him back.

- Fye-kun is right - Kakashi said - The ninjas that Naruto and Syaoran-kun are fighting are extremely dangerous, even I have to plan my move carefully dealing with them, and that's when I'm in my best shape.

The silver haired ninja took one last glance at his state, clearly in no condition to fight Itachi and Sasuke head on, not to mention that in the worst case scenario, Naruto might have lost control of his temper and release the Kyuubi from his seal. Kurogane let out a frustrating grunt before sitting down, allowing Sakura to work on his injuries. She had to work her fastest if she wanted to help her friend...

:::

_**Dark... so dark... What have you done Naruto?**_

_I'm sorry... I can't help it. That's who I am, that's my ninja way. I'm just sorry that I dragged you into this mess with me, Kyuubi_

_**Damn right you did**_ - The demon fox bared his teeth - _**Now thanks to your stupid hero act, we're going to die together**_

_There has to be another way. I can't stop now, not like this._

_**Sorry kid! My chakra can heal you only when you go berserk and release the seal. I don't think you trust me enough to do that.**_

_I think he does._

A glimpse of light shone upon them, pushing back the darkness that threatened to engulf the young ninja and the beast. Syaoran landed next to his friend:

_I'm sure Naruto-kun trusts you more than you think; otherwise he wouldn't be here, by your side on the verge of death like this._

_**Hmph! He always comes to me when he's in trouble, just like that time when he had that fight with the Uchiha brat before he left for good.**_

_I was in a fit of rage_ – Naruto said – _I couldn't just sit by and let him join that snake freak Orochimaru._

_**You failed anyway, just like right now when you're failing your friends, your sensei… everyone.**_

_He wouldn't if you're not so stubborn and lend him your power_ – Syaoran crossed his arms over his chest.

_**This is none of your business, brat. You're lucky I'm stuck here, or I'll bite your head off for intrusion and for that arrogant attitude of yours.**_

_What if I release you? What will you do then?_ – Naruto suddenly asked.

The question caught Kyuubi by surprise. He could be free from his prison, no longer bounded with a puny human being. His life would be his again, and he could find a place to hide until everything was over. But then…

_**Why would you do that, boy? You know that if I'm released, I can take over your body or flee and leave you to your death.**_

_To prove that I trust you. I don't know any better way than that._

_**I can crush your village just like I did fifteen years ago.**_

_If you do that then I'll crawl back from the death to beat the crap out of you, believe it._ – Naruto gave him a hard glare.

For a moment nobody said anything. Then red chakra started flowing out from the cage, swirling around the young ninja's feet and lifted him up to the seal.

_**You're taking a very big risk, Naruto.**_

_I know, but I have a hunch that I won't regret this._

With that, he tore the seal off with one swift movement. In a blink of an eye, red, hot chakra poured out, plunged the two boys into its depth.

:::

The chakra blast was overwhelming. Itachi, Sasuke along with 'Syaoran' were all knocked flat on their backs. Using his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light, Itachi was shocked to see Naruto had stood up, Syaoran right next to him. The orange ninja was covered from head to toe in bright red chakra, whisker mark on his cheek deepened, claws and fangs grew. The chakra cloak was obvious evidence that Kyuubi had taken control, with three tails sprouted out from behind. The demon fox moved Naruto's head to Syaoran:

- We'll do that combination attack that you and Naruto did; only this time I'll add my chakra to it.

- No, we can't. Naruto-kun and I haven't perfected it yet.

- His control of chakra is a laugh. Just do it with me, or those three will come at us again. I don't think I can handle whatever that Itachi guy is holding alone.

Hesitate no more, Syaoran stepped up and put his hands above the chakra-covered one of Naruto, releasing his wind magic power. A small sphere took form in their hands, with red, blue chakra and green magic mixing together with it. Sasuke and Itachi had noticed the coming attack, charged at the two in order to break whatever they wanted to throw at them. 'Syaoran' was hot on their heels, still reaching out for the feather.

At this point the sphere was as big as Naruto's head, and four shuriken blades spiked out from it, spinning into a blur.

- More power! They're right at our faces now – Kyuubi urged, and Syaoran complied without saying a word.

Sasuke charged up his Chidori while Itachi focus his power from the feather. They both launched their Sharigan to the boys, but Syaoran had closed his eyes, and Kyuubi focus the red chakra to Naruto's eyes, shielding them from the genjutsu.

- Good, now GET DOWN! – Kyuubi shouted, throwing the spinning wind shuriken at them.

Sasuke and Itachi clashed with it head on, at the same time 'Syaoran' jumped up to bring his sword down Naruto's head.

KABOOM!

The giant Rasen Shuriken collided against the combine force of Chidori and magic power from Itachi and 'Syaoran'. Kyuubi could feel earth crumbled beneath the boy's feet, but he held his ground. Brought both of his arms up to support the jutsu, he saw his opponents' eyes widened in shock. The momentum from the wind blades scattered the force from the onslaught jutsus to the side, at the same it started to release the pressurized power held within.

In a blink of an eye, light was even brighter than the sun… and then went pitch black…


	18. The Journey goes on

Naruto Chronicle 18

He was floating… inside some kind of liquid… Strange... How could he breath then?... Why was everything so dark?... He couldn't figure out which way was up and which was down. Naruto tried to lift his arm, but it's as heavy as lead. He wanted to move his body, but it didn't bulge an inch. Naruto opened his mouth to scream, but his voice was muted. What the hell was happening to him? Where was he? Where's Kyuubi? And Syaoran…

_**Easy kid! You and I both suffered the battle. I need time to heal your body with my chakra.**_

Kyuubi? Where's the voice coming from? It sounded like it was in his head, yet everywhere at the same time.

_**Geez, even your mind was damaged, you know that? The first time you succeeded using that jutsu, your arm busted, and it was just your normal wind chakra. Imagine my chakra and that boy's magic added to it.**_

Now Naruto understood. The blast must have packed one hell of a punch, but then, what about Syaoran? And Sasuke?

_**Just relax, boy! When I'm done with you and you can wake up, you'll get your answer…**_

Something darker than the darkness around Naruto devoured him, plunging him back to unconsciousness…

:::

- … Three days already.

- It could've been worse.

- He was lucky Syaoran was there.

- Hey! I think he's coming to.

People were talking around him. He could hear their voices, but couldn't make out which one belonged to whom. Naruto's eyes opened to a blur. Blinking it some time, they focused to what seemed to be the hospital's ceiling. The bright light above him was suddenly covered by a figure looming over his head:

- How are you feeling, Naruto? – Sakura asked.

- … Mmph… thirsty… - His voice's cracked.

- Here, have some.

A wet piece of cotton was dipped over his lips. Water slowly leaked in, soothing his burning throat. It freshened his foggy mind and gave him some more energy to speak:

- Wh-what happened...?

- You've been in here for 3 days straight, Naruto-kun - Fye answered from the other side of his bed - the attack you used hurt your opponents greatly, but it took a toll on you as well.

- You're lucky Syaoran-kun was here - Sakura continued - I never knew he could use healing technique too. He's been healing you ever since he recovered.

- I... I don't remember anything - the orange ninja grimaced - Can you start from the beginning?

Lightly shook her head, Sakura sighed with a smile. What could this boy do without her or Hinata?

- Alright, it goes like this...

_..._

_The explosion engulfed them all in a giant semi-sphere of light. Earth shaken under the sheer power of air pressure. Friends of Naruto and Syaoran all fell to the ground. They realized without a doubt that their friends needed them, and went directly to the light's direction. Hinata was the first one to detect them, and what she saw made her collapse on the spot:_

_- No… Naruto-kun! – Her hand was over her mouth to hold back the scream._

_Before them lied the aftermath of the combined jutsu. Trees evaporated like water, ground sizzled with the black color of charcoal. Bodies of friends and foes scattered across the ground, all in twisted shape. The feather trapped in dark sphere was severed from Itachi's hand, now floating gently in what seemed to be the middle of the explosion. Fye quickly ran to retrieve it before returning to Syaoran and Naruto. A grunt from a distance alerted them about Sasuke coming back to conscious. A part of his body already transformed into the awakening state, with one wing partly emerged, but it had been reduced to cinder. Itachi was not very far from him, with armor-like chakra covered his body, from afar it was similar to a giant skeleton. The ones with much worse injuries were Naruto and the two Syaoran. Sakura rushed to their sides as soon as they were in her sight, beginning to cure them._

_Sasuke sat up with a huff, eyeing his brother. They were both in no condition to continue their fight, and with all the ninjas and unknown enemies, it would be foolish of him to challenge them at his current state. Where were Hebi when he needed them?_

_- Sasuke… come back to… Konoha… - Naruto pushed Sakura's hand away, leaning on her shoulder to stand up straight. The Kyuubi's cloak had long since gone._

_- You think he'll listen to you? Don't make me laugh._

_Suigetsu surged up from the ground, his body couldn't solidify properly. Whatever the outcome of his fight against Kisame, he was in bad shape. Juugo and Karin weren't fare any better. The girl had to use all that she had left to half carry, half drag her companion to where Sasuke was. None of the Konoha ninja stopped her. None of them had any strength left. They had had what they came for, the fight to take Sasuke back could wait for their next encounter._

_- Sasuke-kun. We have to retreat now – Karin begged – We're outnumbered. Please!_

_Without any strength left to protest, the Uchiha boy let Suigetsu engulf them, then sunk to the ground in a puddle of water. Naruto's attention drew to Itachi, now stood up with a hand to his side, gripping at a severe bleeding._

_- Another time, Naruto… Another time…_

_And he vanished in a smoke._

_- Damn it! We were so close! – Naruto spitted out some blood._

_- We still have my clone to worry about! – Syaoran reminded him._

_Everyone turned their gaze to the last unconscious body on the battlefield. 'Syaoran' haven't moved since the whole team arrived, yet nobody dared to approach him. Kurogane slowly advanced, but before he could reach the boy, a slick figure shot past him, grabbing 'Syaoran' by the neck of his shirt._

_- What the…? – The black warrior widened his eyes._

_- Kyle? I thought we knocked him out! – Fye gritted his teeth._

_- You should make sure that I stay down, Fye-san. Now if you excuse us, we'll be taking our leave as well. This mission is obviously a failure._

_Unsheathed his sword with lightning speed, Kurogane lunged for them, but before his sword could touch its target, a dark red slice appeared, devoured Kyle and 'Syaoran' from view. The former ninja slashed his sword to thin air in frustration. One more time he let them slipping through his fingers._

_- Well, at least now we got the feather. – He stomped back to his companions._

_Naruto saw all that, but his body was numb to do anything. The only thing that lifted his spirit was that his friends were all safe and alive, and his new friends also found what they've been searching for. Exhaustion shut down his mind as he fell to unconsciousness and into the open arms of his friends with a smile…_

_..._

- Tsunade-sama had to personally heal you through critical state - Sakura stood up, scribbled something down the paperclip on the side desk - Otherwise you'd lose both your arms now. After that, Syaoran-kun takes full responsibility to boost your recovery with his magic. He should be here by now.

As if on cue, Syaoran walked in with princess Sakura, Hinata and Kakashi right behind them.

- It's good to see you awake, Naruto-kun! - Syaoran warmly greeted him - I can't thank you enough for what you've done to us.

- Hey! It's what friends are for, pal.

- And now I will return the favor.

Sitting down a chair next to the bed, the young magician held his hands over Naruto's bandaged arms, chanting:

- Suiryuu Shourai!

Water flowed from his hands into thin air, wrapped itself around the arms, and an extremely relax feeling washed over the young ninja.

- I haven't mastered this spell yet, so the effect is very slow – Syaoran smiled – but it's better than nothing.

- You bet. Even with the Kyuubi's chakra, it still took me 3 days to wake up.

-…Uhm… N-Naruto-kun… - Hinata set the fruit basket on the desk with her trembling hands - …G-get well s-soon, o-okay?

Fye and Sakura smiled at her. She was so strong defending for her crush, yet still so hopeless confessing. They doubted Naruto would know about her feeling anytime soon. The subject ninja glanced around the room, surrounded by warming faces and affection. He let himself drifted back inside the sewer, where Kyuubi rested.

_**Your friends really care for you**_ – The fox stated the obvious fact.

_I know that, because they accept me and love me for who I am, no matter what… who is inside me._

_**Hmph! Somehow I doubt they'd do the same for me.**_

_Hey! If some idiot like me can befriend with you, no way the other can't. – Naruto grinned - I've been knowing you for a long time, Kyuubi. You're not a threat, you're just… misunderstood, like I was. You just have to work your way to make them know you better._

_**And why would I bother with puny humans like you and your friends?**_ – Kyuubi smirked.

_No one can survive alone. And I mean no one. Even you have your comrade Bijuus. Who knows, you can join them later, but right now, we're all you have, and we're willing to welcome you._

The demon fox didn't say anything. He turned his back to Naruto and lied down.

_**I'll… think about this. Now leave! Healing you is making me sleepy.**_

:::

The sun still burnt above them, but a nice breeze soothed the air on the roof of the Hokage's office. Naruto still had both of his arms in caskets, but they were way better than when he was retrieved from the battle. In front of him, Syaoran and his team were ready for the trip to the next world.

- Thank you for all your help - Syaoran bowed - We will miss you all.

- Too bad you can't stay any longer - Sakura lifted her hair to the back - We have much to show you.

- Maybe next time when we're around - Fye nodded with a playful smile - Our trip across dimensions is unpredictable. We might land back on your village tomorrow.

- Just know that whenever you come, you're our honored guests here - Tsunade proudly said.

Suddenly, red chakra erupted from Naruto's body, covered him in the Kyuubi cloak. Everyone switched into defense position instantly, all excepted for Syaoran. The demon fox strained Naruto's lips into a smile:

- Take care of yourself and your precious princess, boy - His voice rumbled through Naruto's throat.

- I will. You behave yourself too, now that Naruto-kun had put so much faith in you.

- Faith? What faith? - Sakura nervously asked.

- The boy trusted me not to wreck havoc to this village. He and I are... friends, as you are to him - Kyuubi turned the blond head around - I don't intend to fail him anytime soon.

He slowly held out one bandaged hand toward Tsunade. The Hokage was hesitate staring at the glowing chakra. But then she took it. The chakra wasn't burning hot, just a little warmer than normal human heat. Tsunade smirked:

- Who would've thought this idiot can tame someone as you.

- Heh, I didn't believe it at first myself.

- Well, he's still famous for being the number one unpredictable ninja - Kakashi smiled under his mask.

The chakra evaporated from the boy, condensed into a tiny head of a fox resting on his shoulder. Naruto snapped:

- Hey! Warn me next time when you do that, ok? This body is still mine, you know?

- Quit yapping - The Kyuubi head stuck his tongue out - You have your way to make friend, I have mine. Your unpredictability must have rubbed off on me.

Everyone excepted Naruto laughed at that. Kurogane slapped on his other shoulder:

- You got me impressed kid! Looking forward to the next time we spar, I want to test my strength against that little demon - Turned back to his companions, he said - Alright! We don't have all day. Let's get going!

Mokona gently floated, opening her wings. Magic circle shone under their feet, swallowed up Syaoran and his friends in a sphere of light. When the light was gone, the dimensions travelers vanished. The magic left all the Konoha ninja with their mouths wide opened. Then, Tsunade clapped her hands together:

- Okay, that's a wrap! Now who's up for some ramen?

- ME! - Naruto's eyes lit up.

- I'm not paying though, I still have some debt left.

- Awww!

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** The long forgotten fic I once was head over heels for when I was younger had finally reached its end. I have to admit it's a strange notion translating this fic to English, since not many fo my friends enjoyed this, they think these two should stay in their own universes. Anyway, my mission to my younger self is complete. Thank you so much for all your support from the beginning ^^


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